We now know the two finalists in the 2023 Davis Cup in Malaga, Spain. On Sunday, Australia will face Italy. In the first of two semifinals on Friday, Australia beat Finland, an in the second of two semifinals on Saturday, Italy beat Serbia.
In the Australian win over Finland, the Aussies won two singles matches. Alexei Popyrin of Sydney defeated Otto Virtanen 7-6, 6-2. In the first set tiebreak, Popyrin won 7-5. Then, Alex de Minaur of Sydney defeated Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4, 6-3. Australia will be looking for a better result than in 2022. A year ago in Malaga, Spain, Australia reached the finals before losing to Canada.
Then on Saturday, Italy beat Serbia two matches to one. After Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia beat Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-7, 6-2, 6-1, Italy came back with two impressive victories. Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic in an ATP Finals final rematch from Sunday in Turin, Italy, and then Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego beat Djokovic and Kecmanovic in doubles play, 6-3, 6-4.
It was a statement win for Sinner, who was instrumental in guiding the Italians to their first Davis Cup Final since 1998 in Milan. A quarter of a century ago, Italy lost to Sweden.
On Sunday, expect De Minaur to face Sinner in the second match. Head-to-head Sinner has won all prior five matches. His victories came in the finals of the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals in Italy, the quarterfinals of Sofia in 2020, the fourth round of the 2022 Australian Open, the second round of the 2022 Madrid Masters, and the finals of the 2023 National Bank Open in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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