Davis Cup: Sinner, Berrettini put Italy into semi-finals

Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner kept alive Italy’s hopes of defending its Davis Cup title on Thursday, when they sealed the Final 8 tie against Argentina with a deciding doubles victory.

The Italians dropped the opening singles match, but fittingly, it was the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings who was heroic, beginning with a 6-2, 6-1 win against Sebastian Baez. Sinner returned to court, teaming Berrettini to down Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4, 7-5.

The 23-year-old Sinner arrived in Spain fresh off claiming the Nitto ATP Finals trophy and has carried his momentum forward. In his singles rubber against Baez, Sinner did not face a break point until 4-0 in the second set, erasing all four of the Argentine’s chances that game to maintain a double-break lead.

“It was a must-win match,” said Sinner, who holds a 71-6 season record and has won 27 of his past 28 matches. “Very different conditions. The court is very, very fast and tough to play. I haven’t had so much time to adapt to the conditions, but I’m happy about today.”

Earlier, Argentine Francisco Cerundolo downed Olympic bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-1 in the opening rubber. Cerundolo seamlessly transitioned from defence to offence and pinned Musetti deep beyond the baseline en route to a 90-minute victory.

Italy will next face Australia in the Davis Cup semi-finals, a rematch of last year’s championship.

In 2023, Sinner clinched Italy’s first Davis Cup title since 1976 with a victory against Australia’s Alex de Minaur. Sinner, an 18-time tour-level titlist, saved three match points against Novak Djokovic to send Italy to the championship round.