Novak Djokovic’s 21-match Davis Cup win streak comes to end،
MALAGA, Spain — Novak Djokovic had three chances to finish off Italy and put Serbia in the Davis Cup final.
But Jannik Sinner brought Italy back from the brink of defeat, saving three straight match points before ending Djokovic’s 21-match Davis Cup singles winning streak to level the semifinal at 1-1 on Saturday.
Sinner then outplayed top-ranked Djokovic again in doubles to seal Italy’s 2-1 victory and put them in the final for the first time since 1998.
Djokovic had hoped to cap off a superb season, taking his Gram Slam haul to a record 24 titles after winning three other majors, by taking Serbia to their first Davis Cup final in a decade.
“For (me) personally, it’s a huge disappointment, because I take responsibility for it, obviously with three match balls, and so close to winning it,” Djokovic said. “When you lose for your country, the feeling of bitterness is even greater.”
Miomir Kecmanovic beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-1 to give Serbia a 1-0 lead in their semifinal showdown, and Djokovic put Serbia on the cusp of the final when he faced Sinner in the second singles. match.
But fourth-place Sinner rallied to beat Djokovic 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. It was the third singles match between top-ranked Djokovic and Sinner in 12 days. Sinner defeated Djokovic in the group stage of the ATP Finals last week before Djokovic defeated Sinner in the final to win a record seventh ATP Finals title.
Sinner then teamed with Lorenzo Sonego in doubles. They beat Djokovic and Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4.
“The match of my life? I don’t know, but it’s definitely very important,” Sinner said of his singles victory.
“It helps a lot that the last competition of the season is a team competition, because you get a lot of energy from your teammates, from the whole team, and then the crowd is different too,” he said. “I really enjoyed playing today. It was a great match. At the end of the match, I was really happy that the team could at least play a deciding double.”
Italy will face Australia in the final on Sunday on the same indoor hard court in southern Spain. Italy’s only title came in 1976. Its last final was in 1998.
Sinner’s victories avenged his defeat to Djokovic for the ATP Finals title six days earlier.
Djokovic’s previous Davis Cup singles loss was when he retired against Juan Martin del Potro in Serbia’s semifinal loss to Argentina in 2011. Djokovic’s last loss in a full Cup singles match Davis dates back to 2009.
In the first singles match, Musetti recovered from an early break to win a first set tiebreaker. But Kecmanovic grew stronger as the match went on and took advantage of a lopsided third set for his first victory in three career meetings with Musetti.
In the second singles match, Sinner started strong and won back-to-back breaks for a 4-1 lead in the first set. Djokovic then fought back by breaking Sinner twice in the second set to force a decider.
Djokovic had five break chances, including match points, in the third set, but Sinner saved them all. Djokovic wasted his trio of match points before Sinner rallied and broke his next service game to take a 6-5 lead before serving out the match.
Sinner clinched the deciding doubles point when he blocked Djokovic with a big serve that the Serb pushed back into the net.
“Congratulations to Italy for qualifying for the final,” said Djokovic, who helped Serbia win their only Davis Cup title in 2010. “They deserved it. They played very well, especially Jannik , in singles against me, then in doubles as well. He He barely missed a ball during the whole match.”
During a tense moment in the doubles match, Djokovic gestured to the crowd with both hands as if asking for more as Italian fans shouted and jeered at him. On Thursday, after helping beat Britain, Djokovic told a section of the British fans to “shut up” and “shut up” as they began drumming during his on-court interview.
On Thursday, Djokovic became the most successful Serbian player by beating Cameron Norrie for his 44th victory in the competition.
Australia beat Finland in the other semi-final match on Friday. Australia lost to Canada in last year’s final.
