Italy ousts Australia in Davis Cup semis, eyes second straight title

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner clinched defending Davis Cup champion Italy's return to the final in Saturday's 2-0 semifinal victory over Australia in Malaga, Spain.

Italy will try to defend its title on Sunday against the Netherlands, who took down Germany 2-0 on Friday in the other semifinal to reach its first Davis Cup final.

In a rematch of last year's Davis Cup final, Sinner sent Australia packing on Saturday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Alex de Minaur. Sinner's teammate, Matteo Berrettini, opened the best-of-three semifinal by edging Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5.

Berrettini overcame a lengthy first-set loss en route to a two-hour, 39-minute victory. He won the battle of the aces (10-9), winners (34-32) and double faults (zero to Kokkanakis' four), and also won 82 percent of his first serve points to 80 percent for his opponent. The Italian committed 20 unforced errors, while Kokkanakis had 30.

Sinner, meanwhile, who defeated de Minaur by the same 6-3, 6-4 score in the Nitto ATP Finals earlier this month, rebounded from a sluggish 2-2 first-set start to lead 5-2 in the set en route to a one-hour, 28-minute victory.

De Minaur posted five aces to Sinner's four, but the world's top player had 22 winners to 14 for his opponent and won 30 of his 37 first-serve points (81 percent). Sinner converted three of his six break points, while de Minaur converted his only break point.

--Field Level Media