Defending champions Italy are back in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup.
The team led by world number one Jannik Sinner beat Argentina 2:1 in the quarter-finals of the final tournament in Malaga thanks to Sinner's points.
Sinner, who had triumphed for the first time at the ATP Finals in Turin the previous week, defeated Sebastian Baez 6:2, 6:1 in the singles and also won the decisive doubles match alongside Matteo Berrettini against Maximo Gonzalez/Andres Molteni without losing a set. Francisco Cerundolo had previously put the Argentinians ahead against Lorenzo Musetti.
Italy's opponents in the semi-finals will be Australia on Saturday. Captain Lleyton Hewitt's team with the double Olympic champions Matthew Ebden/Jordan Thompson somewhat surprisingly eliminated the USA with Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz 2:1 to reach the last four for the third time in a row. Thanasi Kokkinakis surprised everyone in the singles with a three-set win against Shelton after fending off four match points. The decisive tie-break ended 16:14.
The second semi-final will be contested by Germany and the Netherlands on Friday.
SDA
