After defeating Italy 2-1 on Monday, Croatia became the first team to reach the Davis Cup semifinals. Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic, the top-ranked doubles combination in the world, easily defeated Fabio Fognini and Jannik Sinner in the decider 6-3, 6-4.
After winning his singles match in nearly three hours, Sinner took over for Simone Bolelli. But he and Fognini were unable to break Pavic and Mektic, the Wimbledon and Olympic champions this year. Croatia, a two-time winner, will face either Serbia or Kazakhstan in the final. Their quarterfinal will be held in Madrid on Wednesday.
Borna Gojo surprised everyone by winning the first singles match against Lorenzo Sonego 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-2. Gojo, who is rated 252 places lower than Sonego, rallied from a 4-1 disadvantage in the first set to force a tiebreak. Sonego fought back in the second set, but continued to make mistakes in the third, squandering three break points in the seventh game.
“I knew third set it was either one’s game — one set, anything can happen,” Gojo said. “It was a really tough game at 4-2 and I managed to hold. So, yeah, I’m really happy.”
Sinner evened the match with a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over former US Open winner Marin ili. He rode passionate home support in Turin, where he was ranked No. 10 in the world, and even encouraged the supporters to yell even louder on multiple occasions. “It's an amazing feeling of course, I don’t have the voice anymore,” Sinner said.