Alex De Minaur sends Australia into a second straight Davis Cup final - UBITENNIS

Alex De Minaur sends Australia into a second straight Davis Cup final

By sampaolo
4 Min Read

Australia cruised into the Davis Cup final for the second consecutive year with a 2-0 win over Finland in Malaga. 

Alexei Popyrin battled through a hard-fought first set before beating Otto Virtanen 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.  

Popyrin saved a set point in the first set, when he was trailing 6-5 and forced a tie-break. The Australian player sealed the tie-break when Virtanen hit a forehand long. Popyrin earned a break in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead, when Virtanen made his fifth double fault. Popyrin broke again to seal the second set 6-2 on his second match point, when Virtanen went wide. 

“It’s nerves that I have never experienced before in my life. The nerves playing the first tie, the first rubber of a Davis Cup, winning my first live rubber of a Davis Cup tie”, said Popyrin. 

Alex De Minaur beat Emil Ruusuvuori 6-3 6-4 to send Australia in the final. 

De Minaur converted five of his eighteen break points and won 48% of his first serve points. 

Ruusuvuori earned the first break in the second game of the first set. De Minaur converted his sixth break-back points in the third game to get back on serve. De Minaur earned the second break when Ruusuvori hit a backhand into the net. The Australian player consolidated the break with a hold of serve at love in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. 

De Minaur ended a long rally with a forehand winner to earn a break point. Ruusuvuori saved it, but De Minaur converted his third break point in the seventh game to open up a 5-2 lead, when Ruusuvuori hit his forehand into the net. 

Ruusuvuori broke back with a drop shot in the eighth game and held serve at 15 in the ninth game. De Minaur served out on his third set point to seal the first set. 

De Minaur fended off a break point in the second game of the second set before breaking serve in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. Ruusuvuori saved five break points in the seventh game. 

De Minaur broke for the second time in the ninth game with a backhand winner to seal the second set. The Australian player has won 10 of his last 12 Davis Cup matches. 

Australia will face either Serbia or Italy in the final on Sunday. 

“I am very happy to be in another final. No team really wants to play against us. We are a very solid squad. We have a very solid squad. We have got a lot of depth in every position. If we can get ourselves to the  doubles, we have got an unbelievable pairing”, said De Minaur. 

Finland upset defending champions Canada in the quarter final. Without their world number 1 player Emil Ruusuvuori, who was not able to play the quarter final due to a shoulder injury, but recovered enough 

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