Jannik Sinner leads Italy to Davis Cup glory
Sinner defeated Tallon Griekspoor to secure a 2-0 victory for Italy over the Netherlands in Malaga.
Jannik Sinner capped an outstanding season by guiding Italy to a second successive Davis Cup title.
The world number one defeated Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (2) 6-2 in Malaga to secure a 2-0 victory for the defending champions against the Netherlands.
Matteo Berrettini, who won a thriller against Thanasi Kokkinakis in Italy’s semi-final victory over Australia, had earlier played his part with a 6-4 6-2 success over Botic van de Zandschulp.
Sinner therefore adds the Davis Cup to his haul of 2024 silverware, which also includes the Australian Open, US Open, ATP Finals and three Masters 1000 titles.
He has taken an iron grip on men’s tennis during the last third of the season despite the doping case hanging over his head, winning 29 of his last 30 singles matches.
Although Griekspoor hung on well in the opening set, and saved three match points in the second, there was never any real doubt about the result, and Sinner was embraced by his team-mates after the Dutchman’s final return landed wide.
Struggling to make himself heard above the Italian fans, the 23-year-old said: “I’m very, very proud of the whole team. There’s a lot of work behind it and we are very happy to hold this trophy again.
“It was a very difficult day today because everything can happen. It feels like to be in Italy so we are very happy. It’s a very important competition for the whole of Italy.
“You have different pressure and a different weight of having Italy on your shoulders. But I think we all handled it really, really well.
“If it would be not important, I would not be here. It means so much to me. I’m very happy and honoured to be part of this.”
Berrettini was in tears as he celebrated one of the best moments of his career.
The former Wimbledon finalist has endured numerous injury setbacks in recent years and was sat on the sidelines as a cheerleader 12 months ago.
“I once again realised how much I care about Davis Cup,” he said. “And living those moments I took all this energy and I was like, ‘OK, next year, you’re going to be here, you’re going to be fighting for Italy’.
“I used that as an engine for the training sessions and everything that happened afterwards.”
Italy are the first country to win consecutive Davis Cup titles since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013, while they completed a Malaga double after the women won the Billie Jean King Cup on Wednesday.
