Australia has fallen agonisingly short of its first Davis Cup title since 2003, losing in the semifinals to Italy.

The Australian team reached the semifinal stage for the third consecutive year but in a rematch of last year’s final, were unfavourable in both singles rubbers against the defending champions.

While understandably disappointed, Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt is full of pride for his team’s 2024 journey.

“Yeah, it’s bloody tough for all the boys. They put in a lot of effort to give themselves a chance to be here and come so close again,” Hewitt said.

“But yeah, (I am) super proud of the guys and the effort again that they brought and put in for the whole team.”

The tie began with a neck-and-neck battle between Thanasi Kokkinakis and Wimbledon 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini.

Two dominant servers went toe-to-toe all the way through to a tiebreak in the opening set, with Kokkinakis handling the pressure to save three set points and claim the opener.

But the classy serving and powerful forehand from the Italian narrowly edged him across the line 6-7(6) 6-3 7-5.

“He served incredible. 89 per cent (on first serve) in the third set. (He) didn’t give me much of a chance to look in,” Kokkinakis said.

“Yeah, I’m flat. You always feel like you’ve let the team down a little bit, but at the same time, I gave it my all.”