Jannik Sinner leads Italy to first Davis Cup glory since 1976

World no 4 Jannik Sinner guided Italy to their first Davis Cup title since 1976 after beating Australia in the final in Malaga, Spain on Sunday (November 26).

Sinner was the Player of the Tournament and that came as no surprise as the Italian won three singles matches — including a nail-biter with world no 1 Novak Djokovic where he saved three match points and emerged winner — and two doubles as Italy clinched their first Davis Cup title in 47 years.

The final saw Italy overcoming Australia 2-0 courtesy of Matteo Arnaldi’s win over Alexei Popyrin and Sinner’s triumph over Alex de Minaur.

Many other players like Lorenzo Sonego, Lorenzo Musetti and Simon Bolelli played their part throughout the campaign as Italy ended their 47-year-long drought.

Another Italian player, Matteo Berrettini was not selected for the final due to his constant struggles with injuries but he was always present in Malaga to support his countrymen as they were on a journey to make their nation proud.

Sinner, who has defeated nine top 10 players since September, praised Berrettini for always coming to support the team despite having a very tough year with injuries.

“It has been an incredible feeling for all of us, obviously we are really happy,” Sinner said. “[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. Thanks Matteo. [On Saturday], we were one point from being out and now we can celebrate the win. I think we can all be very, very happy.

“We are all very young. We are really hungry to try to win it one more time for our life, but having this feeling at least once, it is a really special feeling,”

The Italians had lost three finals against Australia — runner-ups of last year’s event — in the Davis Cup history.