Matching Report
Berrettini & Sinner send Italy to Davis Cup SFs
The World No. 1 draws twice, including a 2-1 win against Argentina
November 21, 2024
Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images
Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner sent Italy to the Davis Cup semi-finals.
By ATP staff
Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner kept alive Italy's hopes of defending their Davis Cup title on Thursday, when they closed out the Final 8 against Argentina with a double victory.
The Italian dropped the opening singles match, but fittingly, it was the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings who was dominant, starting with a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Sebastian Baez. Sinner returned to the court, rallying Berrettini to take down Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4, 7-5.
Next stop 🔜 semi-final 🇮🇹
Sinner/Berrettini sealed the deal for Italy 🙌@DavisCup | #DavisCup | @federtennis
– ATP Tour (@atptour) November 21, 2024
Berrettini and Sinner won 90 percent of their opening game points and defended all five break points they faced. They earned a crucial break at 5-5 in the second set, which sent the Italian fans into a frenzy in Malaga as the fan favorites closed out the win. Italy will next face Australia in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup, a rematch of last year's title.
The 23-year-old Sinner arrived in Spain fresh from winning the Nitto ATP Finals trophy and is continuing his momentum. In his one match against Baez, Sinner didn't face a break point until 4-0 in the second set, erasing all four of Argentina's chances in that match to hold a two-break lead.
“It was a must-win game,” said Sinner, who owns a 71-6 season record and has won 27 of his last 28 games. “Very different conditions. The court is very fast and difficult to play. I haven't had much time to get used to the conditions, but I'm happy with this day.”
Earlier, Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo defeated Olympic bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-1 in the opening rubber match. Cerundolo transitioned easily from defense to attack and pinned Musetti deep beyond the post en route to a 90-minute victory.
“I played one of the best games of the year for sure,” Cerundolo said.
The 26-year-old, who defeated Musetti in the Umag final earlier this year, converted six of his 13 break chances, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Did you know?
In 2023, Sinner won Italy's first Davis Cup title since 1976 with a victory against Australia's Alex de Minaur. Sinner, the 18-time world number one, saved three match points against Novak Djokovic to send Italy through to the championship round.
