MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Miomir Kecmanovic beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-1 to give Serbia a 1-0 lead over Italy in their Davis Cup semifinal on Saturday.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic will play fourth-ranked Jannik Sinner in the second singles match. Sinner must win to keep Italy alive and force doubles.
Musetti had won their two previous meetings in straight sets. The Italian recovered from an early break to win a first-set tiebreaker. But Kecmanovic got stronger as the match went on and closed him out in a lopsided third set.
It will be the third meeting between Djokovic and Sinner in 12 days. Sinner beat Djokovic in the ATP Finals group stage, but Djokovic got revenge when he beat Sinner in the final to earn a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title on Sunday.
Djokovic helped Serbia win its first and only Davis Cup title in 2010. On Thursday, he became the outright most successful Serbian player in the history when he beat Cameron Norrie for his 44th victory in the competition.
Serbia is seeking its first final since 2013 when it lost to the Czech Republic in Belgrade.
Italy’s only title was in 1976. Its last final was in 1998.
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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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