MALAGA, Spain (AP) – Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin led Australia to their second straight Davis Cup final with a 2-0 win over Finland in singles play on Friday.
Popyrin defeated Otto Virtanen 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the semi-finals, giving Australia a 1-0 lead. De Minaur then defeated Emil Rousbry 6-4, 6-3 to end the match against Finland.
Novak Djokovic’s Serbia They will face Jannik Sinner’s Italy in the other semi-final on Saturday on the indoor hard courts of the Martin Carpena Arena in Malaga, Spain.
Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt said: “Davis Cup games are not easy and you don’t take anything for granted. Rankings can be thrown out the window.” “I knew they were going to be a tough opponent. I’m really proud of them.”
Popyrin defeated Virtanen in the first set, saving a set point from a 6-5 lead and slamming his opponent’s forehand long to force a tiebreak.
Virtanen was a Finnish hero. Upset of defending champion Canada He won both singles and doubles matches on Tuesday. However, in the second set against Popyrin, she allowed a break due to her fifth double fault due to her serve.
“(This) was probably the biggest victory of my career so far,” Popyrin said. “Winning a game that meant so much to us was an honor and one we will never forget.”
De Minaur converted 5 of his 18 break chances against Rousbourg. He ended the match with a backhand winner to the sideline.
Australia has the second-most Davis Cup wins with 28, followed by the United States with 32, but their last success came in 2003.
Before defeating Canada to advance to the semifinals for the first time, the Finns America And then the match against Croatia in the group stage.
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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis