Special feeling to win Davis Cup for Italy: Jannik Sinner

MALAGA – Italy’s Davis Cup hero Jannik Sinner said it was a “special feeling” to end his team’s 47-year drought in the competition on Nov 26 in Malaga.

Sinner beat Alex de Minaur in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 in the second singles after Matteo Arnaldi scraped past Alexei Popyrin 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to earn his country their second trophy with a 2-0 win over Australia.

Sinner, the world No. 4, ended the week with five wins out of five, including a heroic performance in the semi-final on Nov 25, when he beat Novak Djokovic to keep his country alive against Serbia after saving three consecutive match points.

He then went on to beat Djokovic and the Serb’s partner Miomir Kecmanovic in the doubles with teammate Lorenzo Sonego to send Italy to the final against 28-time winners Australia, and, 24 hours later, Sinner delivered the title in style.

Hitting the ball with relentless power from the baseline, the Italian dominated from the moment he broke serve early in the first set and there was nothing de Minaur could do.

Sinner’s purple patch lasted until he claimed the winning point on his third match point, sparking celebrations among teammates, officials and a noisy Italian contingent inside the Malaga arena that has staged the week’s captivating Finals.

The 22-year-old said he would like to take Italy to further success in the competition if he can, but that winning it for the first time was wonderful.

“We are all very young, we are really hungry to try to win it one more time in our life but, in another way, you know, having this feeling at least once, it is a really special feeling,” said Sinner.

The Italian said his team triumphed because the group pushed one another on in search of their country’s first Davis Cup since 1976.

Sinner arrived after losing the ATP Finals title to Djokovic on Nov 19.

“I played coming from Turin. I gave 100 per cent, all I had. I think the whole team, they pushed one another on, and this is maybe our key, why we are standing here with this trophy,” the Italian said.

Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt was disappointed after finishing runners-up for a second consecutive year but hailed the superb Sinner.

“Jannik, he’s played awesome all week, the last few weeks, to be honest, the last few months,” said Hewitt.

“So he showed why he’s a top three or four player in the world at the moment. He backed up what he did yesterday against Novak and played extremely good tennis.”

De Minaur also acknowledged Sinner’s superb form, which saw him win titles in Montpellier, Toronto, Beijing and Vienna in 2023.

“I think probably Novak said maybe a week ago, Jannik is riding this amazing wave of confidence. He’s seriously impressive (with) the level he’s showing,” said the world No. 12.

The 24-year-old also featured in 2022’s loss to Canada in the final at the same arena and he took solace from how well Australia had performed since the Finals format was changed to the best of three matches.

“There hasn’t been another nation that’s gone back to back in the last two years, so we are showing a pretty good effort collectively,” he said.

“We are very, very close and it stinks like hell but, like I said last year in this same position, we’ll be back. We’ll get this. I mean, we’ve got a very, very strong future ahead of us.”

Australia won the last of their 28 titles in 2003 and have reached the last two finals without Nick Kyrgios, who is currently sidelined by injury and last played the Davis Cup in 2019.

Hewitt has forged a strong team bond among the likes of de Minaur, world No. 40 Popyrin and the 55th-ranked Jordan Thompson, as well as the doubles pairing of Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell.
AFP, REUTERS