BAKU, Azerbaijan—Domenico Vicini has become the oldest player to win a Davis Cup match. He turns 51 in September.
Vicini and doubles partner Marco de Rossi of San Marino beat Martin Muedini and Mario Zili of Albania, 6-3, 7-6, on Wednesday in Group IV play.
The match was Vicini’s 99th overall in his 24th Davis Cup tournament.
The Davis Cup tweeted: “History man Vicini is just one appearance away from playing his 100th tie, a landmark no-one has ever reached!” He can hit that milestone Friday.
Three years ago, Vicini set a Davis Cup record as the oldest player to win a singles match. That was at age 47 years and 318 days.
Vicini made his Davis Cup debut with San Marino in 1993.
San Marino is one of the world’s oldest republics and has a population of some 33,000. It is landlocked and bordered by Italy.
Dutch tennis coach Max Wenders, meanwhile, has been banned from the sport for 12 years for match-fixing, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said Wednesday.
The ITIA said Wenders admitted to “multiple match-fixing charges” and also admitted to destroying evidence and failing to report a corrupt approach.
One of the charges against Wenders came under a rule which forbids people involved with tennis to “directly or indirectly, facilitate any Player to not use his or her best efforts in any Event.” The ITIA didn’t say when or where the alleged conduct happened, and it didn’t name any players.
The ITIA said Wenders was banned and fined $12,000 at a hearing in April 2021 but that the sanctions weren’t published until now following submissions from Wenders’ legal team. He is not allowed to attend any tennis tournament authorized by the sport’s main governing bodies until 2033.
Wenders had reportedly worked with several players on the Women’s Tennis Association Tour as a coach, assistant or hitting partner.