Jannik Sinner inspired defending champions Italy to a comeback victory over Argentina, which set up a Davis Cup semi-final against Australia.
World number one Sinner kept Italy in contention after Lorenzo Musetti’s loss to Francisco Cerundolo with a straight sets victory over Sebastian Baez.
The 23-year-old then partnered Matteo Berrettini to a 6-4 7-5 victory over Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez in the deciding doubles match to complete the turnaround in Malaga.
In a repeat of last year’s final, Italy faces Australia for a place in the final on Sunday after beating the United States 2-1 earlier on Thursday.
Italy is seeking to become the sixth nation to retain the Davis Cup since the final tournament was introduced 52 years ago, and the first since the Czech Republic in 2013.
Germany beat Canada on Wednesday confirm Friday a semi-final against the Netherlands, who eliminated Spain in final tournament of Rafael Nadal’s career.
Sinner, Italy’s “special” in the title race
Looking to cap off an outstanding individual season by helping Italy retain the Davis Cup, Sinner broke Baez’s serve twice in both sets in a singles victory.
The fit sinner won the ATP Finals title Sunday to cap a year in which he also won the first two Grand Slam titles of his career, but he was also involved in a ongoing doping controversy.
World number 30 Cerundolo produced a stellar performance to give Argentina the perfect start, closing out a 6-4 6-1 victory over 17th-ranked Musetti, winning 12 of the last 15 games after suffering an early break.
But Sinner, who only arrived in Spain on Tuesday – two days after triumphing in Turin – returned after his singles victory to partner the excellent Berrettini and keep Italy’s hopes of winning back-to-back titles alive.
Established duo Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori had initially been selected to play doubles for Italy, but Italian captain Filippo Volandri’s decision to pick two of his star names paid off.
“The pitch is very fast and I didn’t have much time to adapt, but the most important thing was to keep Italy alive,” Sinner said.
Volandri, speaking about Sinner’s contribution, said: “He has never trained on this court since he arrived. Within three minutes (after his singles match) he was completely comfortable.
“He’s someone special.”
Australia beat USA after Kokkinakis completes thriller
In a meeting between the two most successful nations in the tournament’s history, American world number four Taylor Fritz defeated Alex de Minaur, after Ben Shelton lost to Thanasi Kokkinakis to force a deciding match.
But Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson propelled Australia, finalist in the last two editions, into the last four thanks to a straight sets victory against Shelton and Tommy Paul.
In a thrilling opening match, Kokkinakis saved four match points to edge a 30-point tiebreak against Shelton in the third set, giving Australia the lead with a 6-1 4-6 7-6 victory (16-14) after two hours and 17 minutes in Málaga.
Fritz, who moved into the world’s top four after finishing second to Sinner at last week’s ATP Finals, responded with a clinical 6-3 6-4 victory over ninth-ranked De Minaur to force a decider.
However, Ebden and Thompson proved too strong for Paul and Shelton in the doubles match and secured an efficient 6-4 6-4 victory with a break of serve in both sets.
It propelled 28-time champions Australia into the country’s third consecutive Davis Cup semi-final and both men celebrated with a chest bump before embracing winning team captain Lleyton Hewitt. of two Grand Slam singles titles.
Hewitt, a member of Australia’s last triumphant Davis Cup team in 2003, said: “We have a rich history in this competition. These boys know it’s a great honor every time you get the chance to wear the green and gold here.
“We have a group of six guys that have really stepped up over the last three or four years now. They’ve meshed well and I’m just really proud of the whole team as a collective.”
