Davis Cup, Berrettini and Sinner's Italy beats Australia and flies into the final
The Roman tennis player won a tense match against Kokkinakis, the No. 1 beat De Minaur in two sets. Now it's the Netherlands to keep the cup in the hands of the Azzurri
3' min read
3' min read
Sinner and Berrettini lead Italy into the final of the Davis Cup in Malaga: the two singles matches were enough to beat Australia and dream of keeping the cup (won last year in an epic battle) against the Netherlands in the Azzurri's home. The ambition is for a splendid en plein after the success of the girls, led by Jasmine Paolini in the Billie Jean King Cup (at the expense of Slovakia).
Matteo Berrettini made his debut, winning the first precious point against a tough Thanasi Kokkinakis (who had prevailed in the quarters against American Ben Shelton 6-1, 4-6, 7-6). The match, which was very balanced and lasted almost three hours, was played on the serve, which was very powerful on both sides, with first serves almost always above 200 mph and strong second serves. In the first set, the Italian (preferred in the singles by captain Volandri on a surface that is not congenial to Lorenzo Musetti, who had lost badly against the Argentine Cerundolo) surrendered 7-6 with not a few regrets. In fact, he broke his opponent on 5 par, after having wasted four break points. He then failed to convert a set point at 6-5 and suffered the return of Kokkinakis, who caught him on 6 even at the first (and only) opportunity offered by the Italian. The tiebreak was rocambolic, in which Matteo was down 3-1, then went up 6-4 with two more set points cancelled by the Australian, who had just one after that: Matteo's forehand into the net, and set!
At the start, the second set followed the same script, neck and neck (Berrettini held out at 1 break point, cancelling a break point that could have definitively jeopardised the match), until 4-3 Italy, when Kokkinakis conceded a (second) break point and sent his forehand a metre out; then, furious, on Matteo's serve he missed everything: 6-3 in a few minutes and the third set. There was a lot to suffer between missed chances, skimmed lines, and ace attempts, and then on 5 even the balance was broken with Matteo playing a great game and going ahead 6-5 with the serve in his favour. He closed 7-5 with a heavy first and a liberating scream in front of the fans.
With Sinner, you know, everything seems easy. With Alex De Minaur's 8-0 record, the world number 1's ninth victory came in two sets: Jannik left his opponent no chance, even though he gave everything he had (especially in the second set). It ended 6-3, 6-4, without there ever being the impression of a contested match.
It was important to win the round 2-0 so as not to risk playing a problematic and tense doubles match against the Australian pair of specialists Jordan Thompson and Matthew Ebden.
