Italy beats Australia for first Davis Cup title in nearly 50 years

AP photo by Manu Fernandez / The Italian Davis Cup team celebrates with the championship trophy after defeating Australia in Sunday's finals in Malaga, Spain. AP photo by Manu Fernandez / The Italian Davis Cup team celebrates with the championship trophy after defeating Australia in Sunday's finals in Malaga, Spain.

By The Associated Press November 26, 2023 3 min read

MALAGA, Spain — Jannik Sinner capped his perfect week by leading Italy to its first Davis Cup title in nearly five decades.

Sinner took his record to 5-0 this week by beating Alex de Miñaur 6-3, 6-0 in the second singles match of Sunday’s final, giving Italy a 2-0 win over Australia for its first Davis Cup title since 1976.

Matteo Arnaldi had given Italy the first point with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 win over Alexei Popyrin.

Sinner, fourth in the ATP Tour rankings, beat No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the singles and doubles matches in Saturday’s semifinal showdown against Serbia.

The 22-year-old Italian needed 1 hour, 21 minutes to seal Italy’s victory against Australia.