Italy’s Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor in the course of the Davis Cup last tennis match between Netherlands and Italy on the Martin Carpena Sports activities Corridor in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024.
| Picture Credit score: AP
Italy went practically a quarter-century with out profitable the Davis Cup. Then alongside got here Jannik Sinner, and now the nation is celebrating its second consecutive title.
The No. 1-ranked Sinner clinched the championship within the annual crew occasion and capped his breakthrough season by beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (2), 6-2 on Sunday for a 2-0 win over the Netherlands within the last of the Davis Cup.
“Coming again as defending champions and profitable once more — it’s the most effective emotions I believe for all of us,” Sinner stated. “We’re very pleased to elevate this trophy and, in fact, additionally to enter the preseason with a bunch of confidence boosts.”
Matteo Berrettini put Italy forward with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp — the final man to beat Rafael Nadal — within the opening singles match on an indoor exhausting court docket on the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in southern Spain.
The Italians, backed by a loud contingent of singing followers enjoying drums and armed with megaphones within the crowd of 9,200, grew to become the primary crew to win the Davis Cup twice in a row for the reason that Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013.
Italy’s ladies received the Billie Jean King Cup by defeating Slovakia on Wednesday.
“They make us much more proud,” Davis Cup captain Filippo Volandri stated.
After Sinner completed off his win, Berrettini and different teammates rushed onto the court docket to start the get together, wrapping their arms round each other and bouncing in unison. Volandri grabbed Sinner and lifted him off the bottom.
It was clear who was key to this success. Sinner went 4-0 in Malaga, together with a victory in doubles with Berrettini towards Argentina within the quarterfinals.
Berrettini performed an important function, too, after changing Lorenzo Musetti for singles. Berrettini was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2021 however since then went by means of a sequence of accidents and diseases which have restricted his enjoying time. He has spoken in regards to the psychological challenges he confronted.
“I didn’t miss the wins or the losses,” Berrettini stated. “I missed these moments.”
He wanted a while to search out his groove towards the Eightieth-ranked van de Zandschulp. However Berrettini took management by grabbing the opening set’s final three video games, and Sinner left his front-row seat behind Italy’s bench to move to the locker room and put together to shut the deal.
He hit 15 aces towards the Fortieth-ranked Griekspoor and stretched his unbeaten streak in tour-level singles competitors to 14 matches and 26 units, together with a title on the ATP Finals per week in the past.
Sinner’s ascension is among the yr’s largest tales in tennis. He went 73-6 with eight singles titles in 2024, together with his first two Grand Slam trophies on the Australian Open and the U.S. Open. The latter got here shortly after he was cleared of wrongdoing in a doping case linked to 2 optimistic assessments for steroids in March; the World Anti-Doping Company’s attraction of that ruling remains to be pending.
The Netherlands reached the Davis Cup last for the primary time.
“We believed,” Dutch captain Paul Haarhuis stated in regards to the Italians, “we may beat them.”
Till final yr, Italy’s solely Davis Cup triumph got here in 1976. So Volandri stated he advised his gamers to consider their aim this manner: “We need to make historical past.”
Griekspoor, who fell to 0-6 towards Sinner, held his personal till the first-set tiebreaker, which was preceded by dueling chants of “Italia! Italia!” and “Let’s go, Tallon! Let’s go!” Sinner was steadier, extra prepared for the second, and he constructed a considerable lead earlier than ending it with an ace.
From 2-all within the second set, Sinner would not drop one other sport. Quickly, he was becoming a member of Berrettini, Volandri, Musetti and the remainder of the squad in elevating the silver {hardware} that after once more belongs to them.
Printed – November 25, 2024 04:40 am IST
