Four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner, who led Italy to titles in 2023 and 2024, opted to sit out the Davis Cup final this season.
Austria, ranked No. 12, has only beaten Italy once in their previous six encounters—in the 1990 quarterfinals in Vienna, its best result in the team competition.
The Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna is the sixth edition of the revamped event that has the champion decided at a neutral site.
No. 1-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, the six-time Grand Slam champion who is coming off a runner-up finish to Sinner at the ATP Finals in Turin on Sunday, withdrew with a hamstring injury.
Spain will take on the No. 4-seeded Czech Republic, and No. 2 Germany will play Argentina in the last two quarterfinals on Thursday.
