match report
Berrettini & Sinner advance Italy to Davis Cup SF
World No. 1, 2-1 win over Argentina
November 21, 2024
Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images
Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner took Italy to the Davis Cup semifinals.
Written by ATP Staff
Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner kept Italy’s hopes of defending their Davis Cup title alive by sealing a quarter-final tie with Argentina with a decisive doubles win on Thursday.
The Italian dropped his first singles match, but fittingly it was the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings who produced a heroic performance in a 6-2, 6-1 win over Sebastian Baez. Sinner returned to the court and teamed with Berrettini to take down Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4, 7-5.
Next stop
Semifinals
Sinner/Berrettini closes Italian deal
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Berrettini and Sinner won 90% of their first serve points and saved all five break points they faced. They earned a crucial break at 5-5 in the second set, creating a buzz among Italian fans in Malaga as the fan favorites emerged victorious. Italy will next face Australia in the Davis Cup semifinals, a rematch of last year’s championship.
The 23-year-old Sinner continues to gain momentum having arrived in Spain fresh off winning the Nitto ATP Finals trophy. In the singles rubber against Baez, Sinner didn’t face a break point until he was 4-0 up in the second set, erasing all four of the Argentine’s chances to maintain a double-break lead.
“It was a must-win,” said Sinner, whose team has a 71-6 season record and has won 27 of its last 28 games. “The conditions are very different. The court is very fast and difficult to play. I didn’t have much time to adapt to the conditions, but I’m happy today.”
Earlier, Argentine Francisco Cerundolo defeated Olympic bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-1 in the opening match. Cerundolo seamlessly transitioned from defense to attack and pinned Musetti deep beyond the baseline to secure the win after 90 minutes.
“I definitely had my best game of the year,” Cerundolo said.
The 26-year-old, who beat Musetti in the Umag final earlier this year, converted six of his 13 break point opportunities, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Did you know?
In 2023, Sinner won Italy’s first Davis Cup title since 1976 with a victory over Australia’s Alex de Minaur. Sinner, an 18-time tour-level titlist, saved three match points against Novak Djokovic to send Italy into the championship round.
