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, before Jannik Sinner defeated Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(2), 6-2.
“We are very happy to be back here holding this trophy. It feels like being in Italy,” Sinner told the BBC on court during the celebrations.
With world No. 1 Sinner widely expected to beat Griekspoor, it had been down to van de Zandschulp — who beat Rafael Nadal in the last match of the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s career Tuesday — to win the first rubber in the hope of setting up a deciding doubles tie. Instead Berrettini used his prodigious serve and forehand to brush aside the Dutchman, reminding the world that he is a former world No. 6 and Wimbledon finalist after a torrid couple of years with injuries and illness. He has a 6-0 record at this year’s Davis Cup, with five singles victories and one in doubles, teaming up with Sinner to win the quarterfinal decider against Argentina earlier this week.
“My level never really left, it was more when you are struggling physically and mentally, it’s not easy to play your best tennis,” the current world No. 35 said on court after his victory.
Matteo Berrettini’s hammered forehand won him several key points against Botic Van de Zandschulp. (Matt McNulty / Getty Images for ITF)
Sinner went into his match against world No. 40 Griekspoor with a 5-0 head-to-head advantage, despite losing the first set in their two previous meetings. Griekspoor put Sinner under heavy pressure early on, seizing on a few second serves, but the Italian’s brilliant defense helped him escape.
After trading eleven service games, Griekspoor kissed what should have been an easy putaway slice off the top of the net to go 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 managed against Carlos Alcaraz earlier in the week.
Also as against Alcaraz, Griekspoor faded in that tiebreak with two poor backhand errors and the match faded with him. Despite a burst of energy at 1-2 down, during which Griekspoor hit two stunning passing shots and a ridiculous pick-up volley to break Sinner’s serve and move 30-0 up in the following game, Sinner eased 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 two 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 holds both international team tennis trophies, after a Jasmine Paolini-inspired team beat Slovakia 2-0 to win the Billie Jean King Cup Wednesday night. Italy has also secured a five-year deal to hold the ATP Tour Finals until 2030, with Turin to host in 2025; the city is in contention for 2026-30 but is expected to face competition from Milan.
“If it were not important I would not be here,” Sinner said of the international competitions.
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(Top photo: Jorge Guerrero / AFP via Getty Images)