Italy Advances to Davis Cup Semifinals After Defeating Austria
In a demonstration of power, Italy, the defending two-time champion, secured its place in the Davis Cup semifinals by defeating Austria with a resounding 2-0 victory. The match, played in Bologna, saw Flavio Cobolli lead the victory. Cobolli sealed the triumph with a score of 6-1, 6-3 over Filip Misolic. The Italian player dominated the match, culminating with a winning serve that unleashed joy among the local audience. Previously, Matteo Berrettini also contributed to the Italian victory by defeating Jurij Rodionov with scores of 6-3, 7-6 (4). Berrettini demonstrated his ability to recover by coming back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set, saving set points and securing the victory in the tiebreak. Italy, seeking its third consecutive title and the fourth overall, has maintained an impressive streak, winning 12 consecutive Davis Cup series since its last defeat in the group stage of 2023. The semifinal is scheduled for Friday. The competition format stipulates that the series are played to the best of three matches, so the doubles match was not necessary. The defending champion, Italy, will face Belgium in the next round. It should be noted that Jannik Sinner, who led Italy to victory in 2023 and 2024, decided not to participate in this edition of the Davis Cup.On the other hand, Austria, ranked number 12, has only managed to beat Italy once in their six previous encounters, in the 1990 quarter-finals in Vienna, their best result in this competition.
The final event of the Davis Cup, held in Bologna, marks the sixth edition of the renewed format, where the champion is defined in a neutral venue. In other news, Carlos Alcaraz, world number 1 and recent runner-up at the ATP Finals in Turin, withdrew due to a hamstring injury. On Thursday, Spain will face the Czech Republic and Germany will face Argentina in the remaining quarterfinals.
