Jannik Sinner pays tribute to Matteo Berrettini after historic Italian Davis Cup win
Jannik Sinner has guided Italy to their first Davis Cup title in 47 years, and was full of praise for his injured compatriot Matteo Berrettini after the match.
Sinner was coming off the back of two victories over Novak Djokovic, knowing that a win over beat Alex de Minaur would give his nation the Davis Cup title, after Matteo Arnaldi edged out Alexei Popyrin in a tight first rubber.
And the world No.4 did just that, convincingly beating his former doubles partner, 6-3 6-0, to send Italy to their second-ever Davis Cup victory.
After the match, Sinner revealed how it felt to finish the job for his nation and praised the aforementioned Berrettini, who has had another injury-stricken year, but was in Malaga to support his compatriots.
“It has been an incredible feeling for all of us, obviously we are really happy,” said Siner. “[A] huge thanks to Matteo Berrettini. He’s had a very, very tough year with a lot of injuries and it means a lot to all of us that he came here with his positive energy.
“We kept everything together. Yesterday, we were one point from being out and now we can celebrate the win. I think we can all be very, very happy.”
All the hugs 🫂#DavisCupFinals | @federtennis pic.twitter.com/ktfoPY4RLX
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) November 26, 2023
The last time Berrettini played was at the US Open, where the 2021 Wimbledon finalist left in a wheelchair after twisting his ankle in his second round match against Arthur Rinderknech.
Italian captain Filippo Volandri revealed how ‘proud’ he was of his team after some struggles in recent times, “I’m really thankful and proud to have these guys. We have had to manage with a lot of emergencies during these past two years but we did it and we did it like a family.”
Inside the baseline…
This Davis Cup victory really caps off the last couple of months for Jannik Sinner, who has really taken his tennis to new heights after winning titles in Toronto, Beijing, Vienna and reaching the final of the ATP Finals.There will be an added expectation when Sinner takes to the Australian Open next year, where his best previous result is the quarter-final.
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