Australia will once again play for the Davis Cup title. It would be the 29th for the proud tennis nation
Australia’s tennis team has reached the Davis Cup final and will play for its 29th title in the tradition-steeped team competition on Sunday in Malaga. Alexei Popyrin and Alex de Minaur secured a 2-0 win in the semi-final against Finland. In the final, they will face either Serbia with world number one Novak Djokovic or the strong Italians with top player Jannik Sinner. The duel between the favorites will take place on Saturday (from 12.00 noon).
Australia had already reached the final last year, but missed out on the triumph against Canada. The proud tennis nation, serial winners of the 50s and 60s, has been waiting for its next Davis Cup success since 2003. “This competition is a priority for us, we are doing everything we can to represent Australia with pride and passion,” said de Minaur.
Team captain Lleyton Hewitt agreed with his number one. The final “really means a lot to him. Our guys really got stuck in. We’re a close-knit unit and now we’ve got another chance on Sunday,” said the former world number one, who was part of Australia’s last triumph 20 years ago.
Against Finland, who had surprisingly defeated defending champions Canada in the quarter-finals, Popyrin put Australia in the lead with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 win over Otto Virtanen. De Minaur secured victory in the top singles match against Emil Ruusuvuori (6:4, 6:3).
The German team had missed out on the final tournament of the best eight teams, but secured their place in the World Group after losing to Switzerland in the first round. This means they will have to qualify for the finals again next spring
