Malaga, Spain, 24 November 2024 | Rhys De Deugd

Australia has fallen agonisingly short of its first Davis Cup title since 2003, losing in the semifinals to Italy.

The Australian team reached the semifinal stage for the third consecutive year but in a rematch of last year’s final, were unfavourable in both singles rubbers against the defending champions.

While understandably disappointed, Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt is full of pride for his team’s 2024 journey.

“Yeah, it’s bloody tough for all the boys. They put in a lot of effort to give themselves a chance to be here and come so close again,” Hewitt said.

“But yeah, (I am) super proud of the guys and the effort again that they brought and put in for the whole team.”

The tie began with a neck-and-neck battle between Thanasi Kokkinakis and Wimbledon 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini.

Two dominant servers went toe-to-toe all the way through to a tiebreak in the opening set, with Kokkinakis handling the pressure to save three set points and claim the opener.

But the classy serving and powerful forehand from the Italian narrowly edged him across the line 6-7(6) 6-3 7-5.

“He served incredible. 89 per cent (on first serve) in the third set. (He) didn’t give me much of a chance to look in,” Kokkinakis said.

“Yeah, I’m flat. You always feel like you’ve let the team down a little bit, but at the same time, I gave it my all.”

Proud of this team 💚💛

Three-consecutive @DavisCup semifinals. Just not our day today.

Bravo, Italy 👏 pic.twitter.com/3u2WTGVtPI

— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) November 23, 2024

Alex de Minaur then had the formidable task of playing world No.1 Jannik Sinner fresh off winning the ATP Finals in Turin. Aside from losses to Carlos Alcaraz, the Italian has lost just one match on hard court this year, when he was ill in Montreal.

De Minaur showed moments of brilliance with his signature speed around the court and variety on his groundstrokes, allowing him to break the Sinner serve midway through the opening set.

But the crowd, filled vastly with Italian fans, spurred on their No.1 to the 6-3 6-4 victory that ended Australia’s Davis Cup campaign.

“His ball speed, his consistency feels like there’s no real letdown of focus throughout the whole match,” De Minaur said.

“So, if you want to go out and beat him, you’ve got to go out and play some of your best tennis. Especially in those big points, you need to step up.”

Australia will next compete in a home-and-away in the week commencing 27 January for a chance to progress to the following round in September.

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