Sinner, Berrettini lift Italy past Australia and back to Davis Cup final

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini won matches Saturday in front of a supportive crowd in Malaga, Spain, to lift defending champion Italy past Australia 2-0 and back into the Davis Cup final.

Sinner extended his tour-level winning streak to 24 singles sets in a row by beating No. 9 Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 after Berrettini came back to defeat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5.

"Hopefully this can give us confidence for tomorrow," said Sinner, now 9-0 against de Minaur.

Italy will meet first-time finalist Netherlands on Sunday for the title. The Dutch followed up their victory over Rafael Nadal and Spain in the quarterfinals by eliminating Germany in the semifinals on Friday.

Italy, which got past Australia in last year's final, is trying to become the first country to win the Davis Cup twice in a row since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013. Italy's women won the Billie Jean King Cup by defeating Slovakia in Malaga on Wednesday.

The much shorter trip for Italian fans than Australians meant the 9,200-seat arena sounded like a home environment Saturday for Berrettini, with repeated chants of "I-ta-lia!" or "Ole, ole, ole, ole! Matte'! Matte'!" amplified by megaphones and accompanied by drums and trumpets. Chair umpire James Keothavong repeatedly asked spectators to stop whistling as Kokkinakis was serving.

"We're in Spain," Kokkinakis said, "but it felt like we were in Italy."

Sinner received the same sort of backing, of course, although he might not have needed as much with the way he has played all year, including taking the title at the ATP Finals last weekend.

"It's an honor, it's a pleasure, to have Jannik with us," Italian captain Filippo Volandri said.

The biggest suspense Saturday on the indoor hard