Italy wins the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976 after defeating Australia.

Italy defeated Australia 2-0 to win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976, living up to their potential as one of the most promising tennis countries in the world.

Italy gained the first point as 22-year-old Matteo Arnaldi defeated Alexei Popyrin 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in the first rubber between the two second-ranked players in Málaga. Then, less than twenty-four hours after defeating Novak Djokovic twice in a single day, Jannik Sinner once more showed steely nerves as he defeated Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-0 to round up the finest two weeks of his career.

This is a major victory for me, the squad, and Italy as a whole, don’t you think? We sensed the strain,” Sinner remarked. “We had a great deal of accountability. However, we were still able to succeed. We defend it. We were ecstatic. Evidently, everyone is quite pleased with the outcome.

Given Sinner’s and the Australian doubles team’s supremacy, the tie was decided by a hard opening match that both teams had to win. Nothing in their careers had prepared Arnaldi and Popyrin, two younger players who have yet to crack the top 35, for such a momentous occasion.

Arnaldi’s unwavering persistence and determination won the match. Throughout the third set, the Italian was utterly outmatched, facing break points in four of his five service games—a total of eight. From a 15–30 deficit, he had the easiest hold of the entire set as the Australian cruised through his own serve games.

Arnaldi managed to hold onto his serve for a considerable amount of time, displaying bravery when facing break points and preventing Popyrin from feeling under pressure from the scoreboard. Popyrin’s one bad game when down 4-5 decided the game. Arnaldi replied that he had no idea how he had won.