Croatia proves too strong for Australia in a round-robin tie at the Davis Cup Finals in Italy.
Turin, Italy, 26 November 2021 | Leigh Rogers
Australia’s hopes of claiming a 29th Davis Cup title have been struck an early blow, losing its opening round-robin tie at the 2021 finals.
Croatia dominated the singles rubbers to power to a 2-0 victory against the Australian team in Turin today.
World No.276 Borna Gojo stunned Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in the opening rubber, firing eight aces in a 7-6(5) 7-5 victory.
There was only a single break in the one-hour and 49-minute battle, with Gojo striking late in the match on his first break point opportunity.
The 22-year-old Popyrin, on the otherhand, was left ruing missed opportunities. The world No.61 had five break point opportunities during the match, but was unable to convert any.
It was only the second top-100 win of 23-year-old Gojo’s career and first since 2017.
Former world No.3 Marin Cilic then secured Croatia’s victory, recording a 6-1 5-7 6-4 win against Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur.
The US Open 2014 champion had too much firepower in the one-hour and 58-minute clash, striking 29 winners to De Minaur’s nine.
De Minaur showed his fighting spirit to recover from a 1-3 deficit in the second set. The world No.34 won a run of three consecutive games to regain the lead and then broke the three-time Grand Slam finalist again late in the set to level the match.
But world No.30 Cilic confidently withstood the challenge, recovering from 0-2 in the deciding set to win the next four games and wrest back control.
John Peers and Alex Bolt are scheduled to face Croatian duo Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic, who finished the 2021 season as the world’s top-ranked doubles team, in the final rubber later today.
Australia then faces Hungary in its final round-robin tie on Saturday from 8pm AEDT.
The top team from each of the six round-robin groups progresses to the knockout quarterfinals, along with the next two best-performing teams.
This ensures Australia’s title hopes, although dinted, remain alive.
Davis Cup Finals – Turin, Italy
CROATIA d AUSTRALIA 2-0
Borna Gojo (CRO) d Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 7-6(5) 7-5
Marin Cilic (CRO) d Alex de Minaur (AUS) 6-1 5-7 6-4
Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic (CRO) v John Peers/Alex Bolt (AUS) to be played