Italy thwarts Britain`s dream of first Davis Cup semi-final in 33 years

Johannesburg: Italy reportedly stunned Great Britain with a battling 3-2 win in Naples on Sunday to thwart the Britishers dream of a first Davis Cup semi-final appearance in 33 years.

The British were reportedly leading 2-1 going into Sunday`s closing two reverse singles, but Italy`s world number 13 Fabio Fognini stunned Andy Murray 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to level the tie at 2-2 and then Andreas Seppi secured the decisive last point with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over James Ward. According to Sport24, Italy, who last appeared in the semi-finals in 1998, will now face Switzerland in the September 12-14 Davis Cup semi-final. This was reportedly Murray`s first Davis Cup singles loss since 2005. Italy has reached the last four for the first time in 16 years when they went on to finish runners-up to Sweden , the report added.