Australia’s 2-0 Victory Over Finland Puts Them in Second Successive Final – A Major Achievement

Alex de Minaur easily defeated Emil Ruusuvuori, securing a 2-0 victory for Australia against Finland and propelling Lleyton Hewitt’s team into a second consecutive Davis Cup final.

De Minaur’s 6-4 6-3 win paves the way for a match-up with either Serbia or Italy on Sunday.

Consistently expressing the tournament’s importance, world number 12, Alex de Minaur, stated: “For us, this cup is a priority. We do everything we can to represent Australia, with pride and passion.”

Alexei Popyrin also claimed a victory by beating Otto Virtanen 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 in the first singles rubber.

Following Australia’s success in the singles contests, the team’s captains mutually agreed not to play the doubles rubber.

On the other hand, Serbia will battle Italy in the second semi-final in Malaga on Saturday, with Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner set to play pivotal roles.

Notably, Australia captain Hewitt’s team suffered defeat at the hands of Canada in the 2022 final. The last time Australia won the competition, in 2003, Hewitt played a critical role in the opening singles match that led to victory against Spain.

Reflecting on the win against Finland, Hewitt commented: “Our boys dug really deep. We’re a tight-knit unit and we’ve given ourselves another opportunity on Sunday.”

In recovering from an early break, De Minaur took the tight first set against Ruusuvuori. This was a significant triumph for De Minaur, especially after Ruusuvuori’s shoulder injury kept him from participating in Finland’s quarter-final win over defending champions Canada.

Popyrin’s victory over Virtanen put 28-time Davis Cup champions Australia in a commanding position. The world number 40 displayed resilience, saving a set point in the first set and eventually securing victory.

Popyrin expressed his emotions by stating: “It was an amazing feeling, one of the highlights of my career, unbelievable. It’s nerves that I’ve never experienced before in my life.”