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Colombia Beats Uruguay 1-0, Advances to Copa America Final against Lionel Messi, Argentina

Jefferson Lerma scored in the 39th minute (The AP)
Jefferson Lerma scored in the 39th minute (The AP)
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Colombia Beats Uruguay 1-0, Advances to Copa America Final against Lionel Messi, Argentina

Jefferson Lerma scored in the 39th minute (The AP)
Jefferson Lerma scored in the 39th minute (The AP)

Jefferson Lerma scored in the 39th minute, and Colombia played a man short the entire second half in a 1-0 win over Uruguay on Wednesday night to reach the Copa America final against Lionel Messi and Argentina.

Daniel Muñoz was ejected in first-half stoppage time for his second yellow card, but Colombia held on to reach the championship for the first time since winning its only Copa title as host in 2001. Colombia extended its unbeaten streak to a team record 28 games, one more than from 1992-94 and the longest current streak in men’s international soccer.

In a contentious match that included seven yellow cards and one red, players from both teams pushed and shoved in a scrum on the field at the final whistle. Darwin Núñez and about a dozen Uruguay teammates went into the stands as fans brawled. A video showed Núñez hitting a fan in Colombian team colors, The AP reported.

Defending champion Argentina and Colombia meet Sunday night at Miami Gardens, Florida. The Albiceleste are seeking a record 16th Copa title and are looking to join Spain from 2008-12 as the only countries to win three straight major championships.

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Sinner, Berrettini Lift Italy Past Australia and Back to the Davis Cup Final

Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball against Australia's Alex de Minaur during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball against Australia's Alex de Minaur during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Sinner, Berrettini Lift Italy Past Australia and Back to the Davis Cup Final

Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball against Australia's Alex de Minaur during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball against Australia's Alex de Minaur during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini won matches Saturday in front of a supportive crowd to lift defending champion Italy past Australia 2-0 and back into the Davis Cup final.

Sinner extended his tour-level winning streak to 24 singles sets in a row by beating No. 9 Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 after Berrettini came back to defeat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5, The Associated Press reported.
“Hopefully this can give us confidence for tomorrow,” said Sinner, now 9-0 against de Minaur.
Italy will meet first-time finalist Netherlands on Sunday for the title. The Dutch followed up their victory over Rafael Nadal and Spain in the quarterfinals by eliminating Germany in the semifinals on Friday.
Italy, which got past Australia in last year's final, is trying to become the first country to win the Davis Cup twice in a row since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013. Italy’s women won the Billie Jean King Cup by defeating Slovakia in Malaga on Wednesday.
The much shorter trip for Italian fans than Australians meant the 9,200-seat arena sounded like a home environment Saturday for Berrettini, with repeated chants of “I-ta-lia!” or “Ole, ole, ole, ole! Matte’! Matte’!” amplified by megaphones and accompanied by drums and trumpets. Chair umpire James Keothavong repeatedly asked spectators to stop whistling as Kokkinakis was serving.
“We're in Spain,” Kokkinakis said, “but it felt like we were in Italy.”
Sinner received the same sort of backing, of course, although he might not have needed as much with the way he has played all year, including taking the title at the ATP Finals last weekend.
“It's an honor, it's a pleasure, to have Jannik with us,” Italian captain Filippo Volandri said.
The biggest suspense Saturday on the indoor hard court at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martina Carpena in southern Spain came in Berrettini vs. Kokkinakis.
Berrettini, the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2021, needed to put aside the way he gave away the opening set, wasting three chances to finish it, and managed to do just that. He grabbed the last three games of the match, breaking to lead 6-5, then closing it out with his 14th ace after 2 hours, 44 minutes.
The big-hitting Berrettini has been ranked as high as No. 6 and is currently No. 35 after missing chunks of time the past two seasons because of injuries or illness. He sat out two of this year’s four major tournaments and lost in the second round at each of the other two.
But when healthy, he is among the world’s top tennis players, capable of speedy serves and booming forehands. He was in control for much of the match against No. 77 Kokkinakis, who was the 2022 Australian Open men’s doubles champion with Nick Kyrgios and helped his country get past the United States in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Berrettini earned the first break to lead 6-5 in the opening set and was a point away while serving at 40-30. Kokkinakis saved that via a 21-stroke exchange that ended with Berrettini sending a forehand long, then ended up breaking back when the Italian missed again off that wing.
Then, ahead 6-4 in the tiebreaker, Berrettini had two more opportunities to own the set. But Kokkinakis — who saved four match points against Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals — saved one with a gutsy down-the-line backhand passing winner and the other with a 131 mph (212 kph) ace, part of a four-point run to close that set.
“It wasn’t easy to digest ... because I had so many chances,” Berrettini said.