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 Minaur 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. The No. 4 Sinner beat top-ranked 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. "We are all very young. We are really hungry to try to win it one more time for our life, but having this feeling at least once, it is a really special feeling," said Sinner, who has beaten nine top-10 players since September, though he lost to Djokovic in the ATP Tour Finals a week ago. WATCH l Sinner clinches Italy's 2nd-ever Davis Cup title, 1st since 1976: Arnaldi earlier saved eight break points before getting a break of his own to close out the first match in the decisive third set. "I think I won one of the most important matches of my life," the 44th-ranked Arnaldi said.
The Italians, who had never won the title other than in 1976, had lost the three finals it played against Australia, which was last year's runner-up to Canada.