Australia beats Finland 2-0 to reach 2nd straight Davis Cup final

By The Associated Press on November 24, 2023.

MALAGA, Spain (AP) РAlex de Mi̱aur and Alexei Popyrin put Australia back into the Davis Cup final for a second straight year after winning their singles matches in a 2-0 victory over Finland on Friday.

Popyrin gave Australia a 1-0 lead in the semifinal match after beating Otto Virtanen 7-6 (5), 6-2. De Miñaur then finished off Finland by beating Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4, 6-3.

Novak Djokovic’s Serbia will face Jannik Sinner’s Italy on Saturday in the other semifinal match on the indoor hard court at Martin Carpena arena in Malaga, Spain.

Popyrin edged Virtanen in the first set, saving a set point when trailing 6-5 and forcing a tiebreaker that he clinched when his opponent slapped a forehand long.

Virtanen was Finland’s hero in its upset of defending champion Canada on Tuesday, winning both his singles and doubles matches. But his serve let him down against Popyrin in the second set when his fifth double-fault cost him a break.

De Miñaur converted five of 18 break chances against Ruusuvuori.

Lleyton Hewitt’s Australia is seeking a second consecutive final. Australia has the second-most Davis Cup titles, with 28 to 32 for the United States, but its last success came in 2003.

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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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