Sinner, Italy oust Argentina, reach Cup semifinals

MALAGA, Spain -- No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner won matches in singles and doubles to lead defending champion Italy to a 2-1 comeback victory over Argentina on Thursday, earning a return trip to the Davis Cup semifinals.

"I'm here trying to do the best I can in the singles," Sinner said. "If they put me on the court in doubles, I'll also try my best."

On Saturday, Italy will face Australia in a rematch of last year's final, but this time it will only be for a chance to play for the championship. Australia eliminated the U.S. 2-1 earlier Thursday to reach the final four at the team competition for the third consecutive year.

The other semifinal, to be contested Friday, is the Netherlands against Germany. The Dutch got past Rafael Nadal and Spain in the quarterfinals earlier in the week, sending the 22-time Grand Slam champion into retirement.

Italy fell behind 1-0 in the quarterfinals when Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-1 on an indoor hard court at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martina Carpena in southern Spain.

But two-time Grand Slam champion Sinner, who won the ATP Finals last weekend, overwhelmed Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-1. Then Sinner teamed with 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini in the deciding doubles match to win 6-4, 7-5 against Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez.

"He carried me today," Sinner said about Berrettini.

After arriving late to Malaga after winning the ATP Finals, Sinner did not get a chance to practice on the Davis Cup competition court before taking on Báez and stretching his streak to 22 sets won in a row.

"In three minutes, he was perfectly comfortable on court," Italy captain Filippo Volandri said. "He's a special one."

Volandri swapped out his original doubles team, Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, for Sinner and Berrettini, and the change paid dividends.