De Minaur puts Australia into Davis Cup final for second year in a row

Lleyton Hewitt’s side saw off Finland 2-0 and will take on Serbia or Italy in the final on Sunday

Imago / Panoramic

November 24, 2023

Alex de Minaur sent Australia into the final of the Davis Cup for the second year in a row after he beat Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4, 6-3 in Malaga on Friday.

The world No 12, the hero of his country’s win over Poland in the quarters, recovered from an early break down to seal victory and clinch an unassailable 2-0 lead over Finland, after Alexei Popryin’s win over Otto Virtanen in the opening match.

Australia will meet either Serbia or Italy in the final on Sunday. It’s the 49th time that Australia have made the final of the oldest and most prestigious team event in tennis.

“Extremely proud moment, but I couldn’t have done without these guys,” De Minaur, who came from a set and a break down to beat Jiri Lehecka in the quarters, said of his team-mates.

“What we’ve been able to accomplish in back to back years is very special. Today Alexei came out, hasn’t played for Australia in a long time, had a massive match today, played a high quality opponent and dug super deep. He won us that tie today. I’m very happy to be in another final, hopefully we can go one better.

“I think no team wants to play us. We have a lot of depth in every single opponent. If we can get ourselves to a doubles we’ve got an unbelievable pairing as well.”

Sealed in style 🤩

An @alexdeminaur straight sets victory over @EmilRuusuvuori puts Australia in the final 🇦🇺#DavisCupFinals | @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/qH4v1SSg3h
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) November 24, 2023

De Minaur quickly asserts his authority

Ruusuvouri went into the match with doubts about his fitness – a shoulder injury – but the Finn broke in the second game of the match as he led 2-0.

But De Minaur, who came from a set and a break down to beat Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals, hit back immediately, breaking back in the third game and levelling.

From that moment on, Ruusuvuori was under almost relentless pressure from the Australian, whose consistency and depth kept him pinned to the baseline. Another break was enough to win the first set and he moved ahead early in the second.

Ruusuvuori continued to dig deep, enough to stay in touch, but De Minaur would not be denied and he maintained his advantage throughout the set to secure a 2-0 win.

Hewitt hails “special” achievement

Lleyton Hewitt won the Davis Cup as a player and said he was full of pride for the way his team had played.

“Every Davis Cup is bloody hard, doesn’t matter who you’re playing,” he said. “The ranking goes out the window. The boys have done all the hard work, they deserve the results, to back up what we did last year, is very special.”