In the first singles match, Matteo Arnaldi (Italy) completed the task in set 1 to win 7-5 against Alexei Popyrin (Australia). However, the 2001-born player's continuous double faults caused him to quickly lose 2-6 in set 2.
Italy convincingly won the 2023 Davis Cup team tennis tournament (Photo: AP).
In set 3, Arnaldi faced the risk of losing break-point many times, but this player still miraculously saved the point. In the 10th game, Popyrin served inconsistently, lost the break-point to his opponent and lost 4-6. Matteo Arnaldi helped Italy get the first victory.
In the second singles match, Alex De Minaur (Australia) was expected to create a miracle when facing Jannik Sinner (Italy). However, the class of world number 4 Sinner prevented Alex De Minaur from creating a surprise.
In set 1, Jannik Sinner won 6-3 and the dominance was also shown in set 2, the ATP Finals runner-up easily defeated his opponent 6-0. Italy beat Australia 2-0 after two singles matches and convincingly won the 2023 Davis Cup.
Jannik Sinner made his mark in Italy's impressive championship (Photo: AP).
Speaking after the match, Sinner thanked his compatriot Matteo Berrettini for cheering on the Italian team this year: "I want to send my sincere thanks to Matteo, he has had a difficult year, struggling with injuries. His presence here with us has brought positive energy."
Jannik Sinner was the brightest star to lead Italy to the Davis Cup title this year. In the semi-finals, Sinner defeated Djokovic in both singles and doubles and helped Italy eliminate strong opponents Serbia to advance to the final.
Djokovic could not hide his sadness when Serbia stopped at the 2023 Davis Cup: "I take responsibility for the two losses against Sinner. I had a very good chance to bring the overall victory to the whole team but I missed it. We were very close to winning.
Djokovic acknowledges Sinner's class (Photo: AP).
Sport is like that but I still feel bitter when losing for my country. This defeat is very difficult to swallow. I know Sinner's level and hoped he would drop a bit in the doubles, but unfortunately that did not happen. He was in great form today, saving games many times with his serve. Italy deserved to go through."
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