Italy’s Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor in the course of the Davis Cup closing 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 almost a quarter-century with out successful 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 group 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 closing of the Davis Cup.
“Coming again as defending champions and successful once more — it’s among the finest emotions I feel for all of us,” Sinner mentioned. “We’re very glad to raise this trophy and, after all, 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 arduous courtroom 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, turned the primary group to win the Davis Cup twice in a row because the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013.
Italy’s girls gained the Billie Jean King Cup by defeating Slovakia on Wednesday.
“They make us much more proud,” Davis Cup captain Filippo Volandri mentioned.
After Sinner completed off his win, Berrettini and different teammates rushed onto the courtroom to start the social gathering, 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 position, too, after changing Lorenzo Musetti for singles. Berrettini was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2021 however since then went by a sequence of accidents and diseases which have restricted his enjoying time. He has spoken concerning the psychological challenges he confronted.
“I didn’t miss the wins or the losses,” Berrettini mentioned. “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 without doubt one of the 12 months’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 related to 2 optimistic checks for steroids in March; the World Anti-Doping Company’s enchantment of that ruling continues to be pending.
The Netherlands reached the Davis Cup closing for the primary time.
“We believed,” Dutch captain Paul Haarhuis mentioned concerning the Italians, “we may beat them.”
Till final 12 months, Italy’s solely Davis Cup triumph got here in 1976. So Volandri mentioned he advised his gamers to consider their purpose this fashion: “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 recreation. Quickly, he was becoming a member of Berrettini, Volandri, Musetti and the remainder of the squad in elevating the silver {hardware} that when once more belongs to them.
Printed – November 25, 2024 04:40 am IST
