Alex de Minaur drives Australia past Finland to reach Davis Cup final

MALAGA – Alex de Minaur reflected with “pride and passion” after he smoothly guided Australia into a second successive Davis Cup final with an assured 2-0 win over Finland in Malaga on Nov 24.

The world No. 12 wore down Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4, 6-3 after Alexei Popyrin beat Otto Virtanen 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 in the first singles rubber.

Australia last won the competition in 2003. They will face either Serbia or Italy in the final on Nov 26. “For us, this Cup is a priority, we do everything we can to represent Australia, with pride and passion,” said de Minaur. “It’s not too bad to reach another final.”

Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt said reaching the final means “a hell of a lot” to him.

“Our boys dug deep. We’re a tight-knit unit and we’ve given ourselves another opportunity on Sunday,” he added.

De Minaur produced a remarkable comeback against the Czech Republic in a roller-coaster classic to help his country reach the semi-finals but had a gentler ride this time at the 11,300-seater Martin Carpena indoor arena in the Spanish port city.

Although he and Hewitt have been highly critical of the revamped Davis Cup format, the 24-year-old expertly steered his team into their 49th final.

The 28-time champions ended Finland’s impressive fairy-tale run with little fuss, and the captains agreed not to play the deciding doubles.

Nordic fans outnumbered those in green and gold, just as they did for their superb last-eight victory over reigning champions Canada on Nov 21, but this time left disappointed.

Finland’s highest ranked player, Ruusuvuori, 69th in the world, missed the Canada win with a shoulder problem and he had heavy lifting to do after Virtanen’s defeat.

He exchanged breaks with de Minaur, with the Australian finally converting his sixth break point in the third game to get back on serve and never looked back.

Hewitt, who played in Australia’s last Davis Cup triumph 20 years ago, knows the final will be tough, whether it is against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s Serbia, or fourth-ranked Jannik Sinner and Italy.

“It’s tough either way,” he said.

“Obviously, the No. 1s are both absolute quality players – they are as good as anyone going around at the moment.”

Finland captain Jarkko Nieminen was disappointed not to make further history by taking the team to the final but said the experience has been “amazing”.

“(I feel) empty when you realise that this trip for this year is over, the amazing trip that we have had,” he said.

“I appreciated the effort of the team, players, the crowd.”
AFP, REUTERS