Jannik Sinner’s triumph over Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2023 Davis Cup made him just the second player since Nick Kyrgios to defeat the Serb twice in two consecutive weeks.
Sinner had a mighty task of keeping Italy alive in the tournament after Lorenzo Musetti lost in the first singles tie against Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia. Sinner faced Novak Djokovic in the second singles tie. He took the first set by breaking the Djokovic serve twice.
The Serb reversed the scoreline in the second set to send the contest into a decider. In the third set, both players worked well to hold their serve until Sinner broke Djokovic at 6-5 to win the contest 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, to keep Italy in the tournament.
This was the third Sinner vs. Djokovic match in two weeks after the duo competed twice at last week’s ATP Finals. The Italian defeated the World No. 1 in the group stage. However, Djokovic avenged the loss in the summit clash to win his record-extending seventh title at the year-end tournament.
By bettering the Serb at the Davis Cup, Sinner joined Nick Kyrgios in beating Djokovic two times in consecutive weeks. Kyrgios did it in 2017 when he defeated the 24-time Grand Slam champion in the Acapulco Open quarterfinals, 7-6(9), 7-5, and in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters, 6-4, 7-6(3).
Nick Kyrgios has now taken to X (formerly Twitter) to react to Jannik Sinner matching his milestone, writing:
https://x.com/NickKyrgios/status/1728466478507438411?s=20
Team Italy booked their place in the final after Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego defeated Djokovic and Kecmanovic in the deciding doubles tie, 6-3, 6-4. They will face Australia in the final on November 26.