Tennis results and Davis Cup Finals recaps: Jannik Sinner gets Italy through

Jannik Sinner remains unsurprisingly difficult to beat. He is No. 1 on the ATP tour and he helped lead Italy to a win at the 2023 Davis Cup. He very well could do the same in 2024. The issue for other nations and teams is that Sinner is the cheat code for Italy, and no one else can really match that.

On the final day of the stage before the semifinals, Sinner led Italy to a 2-1 victory over Argentina. What the Argentines face is the same problem any other team will face. They were basically beginning a match down as even if their No. 2 player won, they had to assume Sinner would force a deciding doubles match and Sinner would show up there as well.

In Italy's tie with the Argentines, Sinner beat Sebastian Baez while Lorenzo Musetti was decimated by Francisco Cerundolo. No worries. An Italian doubles team of Sinner and Matteo Berrettini dispatched in straight sets the Argentine doubles team. Tie done, and victory to the Italians who should be the favorite heading into the Davis Cup semifinals.

What happened at the 2024 Davis Cup on Thursday?

The other tie on Thursday consisted of the USA versus the Australians. This was a matchup of two nations who once dominated the ATP in singles, but neither country does that now. Sure, Taylor Fritz is the No. 4 player on the ATP tour currently, but that is the highest an American has ranked in years. Plus, Fritz did his job by beating Alex de Minaur. The question is how well any other American would do.

For American tennis fans, sadness followed. Tommy Paul had no business losing to Thanasi Kokkinakis, but he did in three sets with their third set going to an extremely stressful 16-14 loss for Paul. Then, a doubles team of Paul and Ben Shelton lost to the Aussies doubles team of Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson in straight sets.

On Friday, the semifinal matches will feature Italy versus Australia and Germany versus the Netherlands. Let's be real, though. Whichever team faces Italy is going to be at a disadvantage because the Italians have Sinner. Good luck to everyone else.

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