Italy retains the Davis Cup, after Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini in the Netherlands
Italy retained the Davis Cup with a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in Malaga, Spain.
Matteo Berrettini laid the foundation with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Botic Van de Zandschulp, before Jannik Sinner defeated Tallon Greekpoor 7-6(2), 6-2.
“We are very happy to be here again with this trophy. It feels like you are in Italy,” Sinner told the BBC during the courtside festivities.
With Sinner widely expected to beat Greekpoor, it was up to Van de Zandschulp – who defeated Rafael Nadal in the final match of the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s career on Tuesday – to win the first rubber in the hope of a victory. a decisive draw in doubles.
Instead, Berrettini used his prodigious serve and forehand to push the Dutchman aside, reminding the world that he is a former world number 6 and Wimbledon finalist after a torrid few years with injury and illness. He has a 6-0 record at the Davis Cup this year, with five wins in singles and one in doubles. Together with Sinner he won the quarter-final against Argentina earlier this week.
“My level never really went away. It was more when you are struggling physically and mentally. It is not easy to play your best tennis,” the current world number 35 said on court after his victory.
Matteo Berrettini’s hammered forehand earned him several important points against Botic Van de Zandschulp. (Matt McNulty/Getty Images for ITF)
Sinner started his match against world number 40 Greekpoor with a head-to-head lead of 5-0, despite losing the first set in their two previous meetings. Greekpoor put Sinner under heavy pressure early on and picked up a few second serves, but the Italian’s brilliant defense helped him escape.
After trading eleven service games, Greek Spoor kissed what should have been an easily cleared piece of the top of the net, 30-30, when it should have been 40-15. Instead of folding, a brave serve-and-volley move and an ace took him to a tiebreak, just as he had against Carlos Alcaraz earlier in the week.
Greekpoor also failed in that tiebreak against Alcaraz with two poor backhand errors and the match faded away with him.
Despite a burst of energy when trailing 1-2, in which Greekpoor hit two stunning passing shots and a ridiculous pick-up volley to break Sinner’s serve and advance 30-0 in the next game, Sinner calmly came through the second set. He became the second men’s player in the Open Era to record zero straight sets defeats in a season since Roger Federer in 2005 by beating the Dutchman in straight sets.
Italy is the first country to retain the Davis Cup since 2013, when the Czech Republic won it for the second year in a row. It now includes both international team tennis trophies after a Jasmine Paolini-inspired team defeated Slovakia 2-0 to win the Billie Jean King Cup on Wednesday evening. Italy has also signed a five-year deal to host the ATP Tour Finals until 2030, with Turin set to host in 2025; the city is in the running for 2026-2030, but is expected to face competition from Milan.
“If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t be here,” Sinner said of the international matches.
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The ATP Tour will now join the WTA Tour in the tennis off-season until the end of December.
The ATP Next Gen Finals, for the world’s top eight players under 21, kicks off on December 18 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; The first ATP Tour event of 2025 is the 250-level Brisbane International, which starts in Australia on December 29. The WTA Tour event, which has a 500 level, starts the same day.
(Top photo: Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images)
