Italy has retained the Davis Cup with a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in Malaga, Spain.
Matteo Berrettini laid the foundations with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Botic Van de Zandschulp, earlier than Jannik Sinner defeated Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(2), 6-2.
“We’re very joyful to be again right here holding this trophy. It looks like being in Italy,” Sinner advised the BBC on court docket throughout the celebrations.
With world No. 1 Sinner broadly anticipated to beat Griekspoor, it had been all the way down to van de Zandschulp — who beat Rafael Nadal within the final match of the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s profession Tuesday — to win the primary rubber within the hope of organising a deciding doubles tie.
As an alternative, Berrettini used his prodigious serve and forehand to brush apart the Dutchman, reminding the world that he’s a former world No. 6 and Wimbledon finalist after a torrid couple of years with accidents and sickness. He has a 6-0 file at this 12 months’s Davis Cup, with 5 singles victories and one in doubles, teaming up with Sinner to win the quarterfinal decider towards Argentina earlier this week.
“My degree by no means actually left, it was extra if you end up struggling bodily and mentally, it’s not simple to play your finest tennis,” the present world No. 35 stated on court docket after his victory.
Matteo Berrettini’s hammered forehand gained him a number of key factors towards Botic Van de Zandschulp. (Matt McNulty / Getty Pictures for ITF)
Sinner went into his match towards world No. 40 Griekspoor with a 5-0 head-to-head benefit, regardless of dropping the primary set of their two earlier conferences. Griekspoor put Sinner beneath heavy stress early on, seizing on a couple of second serves, however the Italian’s good protection helped him escape.
After buying and selling eleven service video games, Griekspoor kissed what ought to have been a straightforward putaway slice off the highest of the online to go 30-30 when it ought to have been 40-15. As an alternative of folding, a courageous serve-and-volley transfer and an ace took him to a tiebreak, simply as he had managed towards Carlos Alcaraz earlier within the week.
Additionally as towards Alcaraz, Griekspoor pale in that tiebreak with two poor backhand errors and the match pale with him.
Regardless of a burst of vitality at 1-2 down, throughout which Griekspoor hit two gorgeous passing pictures and a ridiculous pick-up volley to interrupt Sinner’s serve and transfer 30-0 up within the following sport, Sinner eased by way of the second set. He grew to become the second males’s participant within the Open Period to file zero straight-sets defeats in a season since Roger Federer in 2005 by beating the Dutchman in two units.
Italy is the primary nation to retain the Davis Cup since 2013, when the Czech Republic gained it for the second 12 months in a row. It now holds each worldwide workforce tennis trophies, after a Jasmine Paolini-inspired workforce beat Slovakia 2-0 to win the Billie Jean King Cup Wednesday night time. Italy has additionally secured a five-year deal to carry the ATP Tour Finals till 2030, with Turin to host in 2025; town is in competition for 2026-30 however is predicted to face competitors from Milan.
“If it weren’t vital I might not be right here,” Sinner stated of the worldwide competitions.
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The ATP Tour now joins the WTA Tour within the tennis low season till the tip of December.
The ATP Subsequent Gen Finals, for the perfect eight gamers on the planet beneath 21, begins December 18 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; the primary ATP Tour occasion of 2025 is the 250-level Brisbane Worldwide, which begins 29 December in Australia. The WTA Tour occasion, which is 500-level, begins the identical day.
(High picture: Jorge Guerrero / AFP through Getty Pictures)
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