Sinner leads Italy’s comeback to Davis Cup semi-finals | ATP Tour

Davis Cup

Sinner leads Italy’s return to the Davis Cup in San Francisco

He helped win the last two games of the series against Argentina.

November 21, 2024

Italy made the return possible. Starting with a 0–1 series defeat to Argentina in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup final, Jannik Sinner led the tournament’s final champion’s recovery and progress to the next round, where he would face Australia. .

Immediately after winning his second singles match, the 18-time ATP Tour champion rushed onto the court again, this time partnering with his compatriot Matteo Berrettini, and again received a standing ovation after his victory. With a score of 6-4, 7-5 they beat Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez to finish 2-1.

Being more decisive at key moments made the difference. In addition to two breaks (4-4 in the first set and 5-5 in the second), they repelled all five break opportunities they faced on serve during the 84-minute contest.

This is the third tournament in a row in which Italy, the 2023 champion country, has reached at least the semi-finals. In addition, those currently led by Filippo Volandri have already won nine series in a row.

They’ll be looking for another one when they measure Australia, the team that just surprised the United States. A year ago they met in the final and the Italians, then also led by the intractable Jannik Sinner, won the first two singles matches to seal the series and the championship.

Hope of a comeback was born when the PIF ATP No. 1 beat Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-1 to leave the series with a 1-1 draw against Malaga.

In addition to twelve straight wins, Jannik Sinner has won the last 22 sets played at tour level. The last person to grab the sleeve was Tomas Echeverri, curiously, a member of the Argentina national team, in the 1/8 finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai.

And this Thursday he was far from losing the duel or even resorting to a decisive game. As he broke a 2-1 lead for the first time in the first set, he set the match’s own pace, leaving his Lexus ATP toe-to-toe with the 27th-ranked Baez at 3-0. The 23-year-old right-hander struck four times and saved all four break points he faced on serve.

Sinner’s streak includes winning campaigns in Shanghai and the Nitto ATP Finals, which he won for the first time last Sunday, defeating Taylor Fritz in the championship match. Now he put his outstanding level at the service of Italy.

Earlier in the day, Francisco Cerundolo shone from start to finish, which began to excite the Argentine team.

In the first point of the series against the defending champion, he took inspiration and beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 and 6-1 in one hour and 30 minutes of play to make it 1-0 at the José Maria Sports Palace. Martin Karpena.

After starting a breakdown in the first set, the Argentine gained momentum and scored several forehand winners, demonstrating his ability to play from the back of the court.

“I’m very happy because we knew this was a key match for us,” explained the 26th number in the PIF ATP rankings. “They have Sinner and we knew it would be the toughest match. I think from the score 0:2 I started to build a little. My game… I think I played a spectacular game. The second set was incredible, we came back really well with patience. “I think it was the best game of the year.”

“Fran” now has a 35-31 record on the year, with ten wins over members of the Top 20, including this Thursday against No. 17 Musetti, against whom he now has a 2-1 record in Lexus ATP HeadToHead. between both.

“I think the first two or three months of this year were really bad,” added the 26-year-old right-hander. “When you don’t do well off the court, it’s very difficult to show that on the court. Those first months of the year were difficult for me, starting with Indian Wells, Miami and especially the powder tour, I think it was a good year, I came here with a new With confidence, in the closed round I won good matches, and lost others very badly.”