Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini kept alive Italy's dream for the first Davis Cup title since 1976 on Thursday in Malaga, where the doubles duo overwhelmed Tommy Paul and Jack Sock 6-4, 6-4 to clinch a hard-fought quarter-final win against the USA.
In the crucial doubles match, Bolleli and Fognini, who have won five tour-level championships together, including two this season, secured the lone break of serve in each set to give Italy a 2-1 triumph against the 32-time champions.
"I am really happy, I am here with my 'brother' and we played really well," Fognini told daviscup.com after helping Italy reach the semi-finals of the team event for the first time since 2014.
"I am happy for me, for Fabio, for the team. It was really tough, but it is great to be through to the semi-finals," added Bolelli.
The two teams shared a riveting pair of singles rubbers in Spain before Bolelli and Fognini's doubles triumph. To give Italy a head start, Lorenzo Sonego defeated Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 7-6(7). In the second match, Lorenzo Musetti defeated Taylor Fritz in a tense tie-break.
The American held off Bolelli and Fognini in the doubles, surviving two set chances in the opening set before claiming a 7-6(8), 6-3 victory to tie the match. Fritz's victory, however, was ultimately in vain.
Italy's semi-final opponent will be decided in the Thursday evening quarter-final clash between Canada and Germany. Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov spearhead the Canadian team, with Jan-Lennard Struff and Oscar Otte as the nominated singles players for Germany.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor