Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini seal Italy’s return to Davis Cup final

World number one Jannik Sinner helped defending champions Italy book their place in the Davis Cup final with a 2-0 win over Australia in Malaga.

After Matteo Berrettini had come from behind to battle past Thanasi Kokkinakis in three sets, Sinner comfortably saw off Alex de Minaur 6-3 6-4 to end Australia’s own hopes of making it to the final for a second straight year.

Berrettini had taken two hours and 39 minutes to eventually defeat Kokkinakis 6-7(6) 6-3 7-5.

Sinner, who had last week won a first ATP Finals title in front of home fans in Turin, looked in complete control as he coasted past world number nine De Minaur in less than 90 minutes.

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Italy will next face the Netherlands, who progressed to the final for the first time after beating Germany on Friday.

“It means a lot,” said Australian Open and US Open champion Sinner in quotes on the ATP Tour website.

“It was a tough encounter, playing Alex. We know each other quite well now, so I have to be very careful every time.

“Obviously it helped a lot that Matteo won the singles today. He played amazing tennis, it was very high quality.

“Hopefully this can give us some confidence for tomorrow. It is going to be a very difficult and tough day for us and also the Netherlands.”

PA