Sam Bunce
Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini both stormed to straight set victories over the Netherlands to retain the Davis Cup title in Malaga.
Sinner went into this one as the recent champion of the ATP Finals in Turin, which attracted a large number of supporters all in anticipation to see the high-flying Italian.
In fact, the Italian has had a record-breaking year, aside from his two grand slams, he ended up equalling the record of Roger Federer of being able to avoid losing any match by straight sets.
Meanwhile, Berretini was forced to sit on the sidelines at last year’s edition of the Davis Cup due to injury, but returned into the limelight for the Italians winning all three of his matches in this finals tournament, consisting of the eight teams that managed to qualify.
In the final, he performed expertly to leave the title in the hands of his teammate, the world number one, in a singles match against Tallon Griekspoor, which was expected to be a straightforward victory, despite the Netherlands’ capacity to spring a shock.
Sinner sealed the cup after weathering tough moments like he so often does, which pushed him through a tie break in the first set, before going up the gears in the second set to draw his persistently successful season this year to a close.
In fact, the Italian has had a record-breaking year, aside from his two grand slams, he ended up equalling the record of Roger Federer of being able to avoid losing any match by straight sets.
He has always thrown and landed punches even in the six losses he suffered in the 79 matches he has played this ATP season.
Italy’s women also accompanied the men as world champions of tennis with their major tournament win at the Billie Jean King Cup a week prior in Andalucia.
It may be the golden age of tennis for Italy with a strong selection of players reaching new heights for their nation in tennis, but it may very well be the mindset shift that competing for your country elicits.
These two tournaments could have solidified this complete domination by Italy, alongside the atmospheres in Turin and Malaga which were flooded with passionate Italians, as well as the recent unprecedented successes of Jannik Sinner.
Davis Cup Talking Points
- Spain Exit Early as the Dutch Surpass Expectations
The Davis Cup final debutant nation, the Netherlands, endured a tough journey to these finals and surpassed their expectations.
The Dutch caused a huge upset to the Spaniards on their home soil in Rafael Nadal’s final instalment of his illustrious career.
In the quarter-final opener, Botic van de Zandschulp defeated tennis legend Rafael Nadal, who emotionally retired at this tournament twenty years on from leading Spain as a teenager to victory in one of his five Davis Cup triumphs.
Despite the efforts of Carlos Alcaraz, he and Marcel Granollers were shocked in the doubles in two very tight tie breaker sets and van de Zandschulp showcased his ability to step up in the big moments again.
He carried on his momentum into the semi-finals against Germany, fighting back from a 26-point tie break loss in the second set in an almost three hour thriller to defeat Daniel Altmaier.
Coupled with Griekspoor’s singles win, they made it to their first ever Davis Cup final, defeating the arguable favourites in the process.
- Australia’s Promising Quarter-Final Display
Nick Kyrgios is also set to make a return and it seems to promise an exciting era of men’s tennis for the country, in an effort to overcome the Italians, who they were knocked out by in the semi-finals in Spain.
Ahead of the upcoming Australian Open, the Aussies showed promising signs against the USA as Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated Ben Shelton, who is more than 50 seeds higher in the men’s singles.
A doubles performance from Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson, who joined together after recently being on separate teams in the ATP Finals, demonstrated the strength in depth the Aussies had to challenge for this cup.
Alex de Minaur and Max Purcell are among those in the higher seeds and both are well-established in singles and doubles respectively for Australia.
Nick Kyrgios is also set to make a return and it seems to promise an exciting era of men’s tennis for the country, in an effort to overcome the Italians, who they were knocked out by in the semi-finals in Spain.
What’s to Come in Australia’s Home Grand Slam
Italy has had a prosperous season of tennis and will be looking to carry on their momentum from 2024 to the opening grand slam in the new year.
Novak Djokovic’s surprise appointment of retired rival Andy Murray into his coaching ranks for the Australian Open will be exciting for fans to see, as it could keep the Olympic gold medallist in contention to add another trophy to his cabinet.
Also, off the back of the Davis Cup, it will be interesting to see how Australia’s growing crop of men’s tennis players can showcase their abilities in Melbourne.
Sam Bunce
Featured image courtesy of [@arnok] via [Unsplash]. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of [janniksin] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of [daviscup] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 3 courtesy of [k1ingkyrg1os] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
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