Novak Djokovic has guided Serbia into Saturday’s Davis Cup semi-finals in Malaga, where he will face a third showdown with World No. 4 Italian Jannik Sinner in less than two weeks.

World No. 1 Djokovic defeated Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4  in one hour, 41 minutes to give Serbia an unassailable 2-0 lead after World No. 55 Miomir Kecmanovic had earlier held his nerve to edge Jack Draper 7-6(2), 7-6(6) in a match in which neither player was able to break serve.

Djokovic, who helped Serbia win its first Davis Cup title in 2010, continued the impressive serving he displayed in Turin, dropping just eight points on serve, while hitting 16 forehand winners, double Norrie’s tally. A winner of 98 tour-level titles, Djokovic took control of the match with an immediate break of serve in the first game of the second set.

Less than two weeks ago Djokovic lost a third-set tie-break to Sinner in group player in the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, before he avenged that defeat with a commanding 6-3, 6-3 victory in the championship match last Sunday. The 40-time ATP Masters 1000 champion will take a 4-1 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series into the semi-finals.

The 24-year-old Kecmanovic came into the tie on a four-match losing streak, having not won a match since reaching the Stockholm semi-finals in mid October. In contrast, Draper reached the final of the ATP 250 in Sofia (l. to Mannarino) in the final week of the regular season after winning the Bergamo Challenger the week prior.

Jannik Sinner is delighting Italian fans for the second consecutive week after bringing Italy back to level terms with The Netherlands in their Davis Cup quarter-final in Malaga, Spain.

Fresh of his run to the title match at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Sinner survived a tight opening set with Tallon Griekspoor before breaking open the match in the second to run out a confident 7-6(3), 6-1 winner.

Sinner leveraged his dramatically improved serve this year to drop just six points on his delivery, firing nine aces while also cracking 10 forehand winners.

Botic van de Zandschulp had earlier given The Netherlands a 1-0 lead when he saved two match points to defeat Matteo Arnaldi 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-6(7) in two hours, 52 minutes.

Sinner has now returned to the court to team with Lorenzo Sonego in the deciding doubles rubber against Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof.

Later today World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will lead Serbia into battle against Great Britain.

Frances Tiafoe is a prominent supporter of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, but this week the American paid a visit to another one of his favourite local pro teams. Instead of the basketball hardwood, Tiafoe hit the ice for some hockey with the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

“That’s way faster than it looks!” a surprised Tiafoe said after attempting to control a pass.

The World No. 16 was more at ease when he mixed in some tennis fun, rallying with Capitals forward Tom Wilson and bombing serves to test the players’ reactions. Tiafoe also made time for a photo opportunity with NHL legend Alex Ovechkin in the locker room, and the pair signed a tennis racquet and a hockey stick for one another.

A native of Hyattsville, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., Tiafoe has supported the teams in the area since his youth. Speaking in front of the Capitals team, Tiafoe explained that he grew up playing tennis just 20 minutes outside of the city.

Check out the full video above for an inside look at Tiafoe’s time with the NHL stars. 

Alex de Minaur led a great escape for Australia at the Davis Cup Final 8 on Wednesday to send his country into the semi-finals in Malaga.

The 2022 Davis Cup runners-up were in a big hole against the Czech Republic after Tomas Machac beat Jordan Thompson 6-4, 7-5 and Jiri Lehecka built a 6-4, 5-3 lead against De Minaur. But from deuce in his 3-5 service game, the 24-year-old won 10 straight points to turn the match on its head. 

Showing his famed fighting spirit, De Minaur levelled the tie at 1-1 with a 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 victory, breaking late in the final set before serving out the match to love.

That set the stage for a decisive doubles rubber that pit Aussies Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell against Czechs Lehecka and Adam Pavlasek. Behind a single break in each set, Ebden/Purcell scored a 6-4, 7-5 win to put Australia through to the semi-finals.

The 28-time Davis Cup champions will next face surprise semi-finalists Finland on Friday. Australia is second only to the United States (32 titles) on the all-time Davis Cup trophy list.