Sinner leads Italy to second Davis Cup in a row

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Sinner leads Italy to second Davis Cup in a row

Italy followed up their semi-final victory over Australia with a comfortable victory over the Netherlands in Malaga to clinch their second successive Davis Cup triumph.

Just as Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner were too hot for Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alex de Minaur on Saturday, they swept aside the Dutch side without the need for a doubles decider.

Sinner clinched victory by beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 on Sunday for a 2-0 win over the Netherlands in the final of the team competition.

Berrettini put Italy ahead with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening singles match on an indoor hard court at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in southern Spain.

The Italians, backed by a loud contingent of singing fans playing drums and armed with megaphones in the crowd of 9,200, became the first country to win the Davis Cup twice in a row since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013.

Italy’s women won the Billie Jean King Cup by defeating Slovakia on Wednesday.

Much of the credit for Italy’s Davis Cup success goes to the No.1-ranked Sinner, who had a 4-0 record in Malaga, including a victory in doubles with Berrettini against Argentina in the quarter-finals.

Sinner hit 15 aces against Griekspoor and stretched his unbeaten streak in tour-level singles competition to 14 matches and 26 sets, including a title at the ATP Finals a week ago.

Berrettini was in tears as he celebrated one of the best moments of his career.

The former Wimbledon finalist has endured numerous injury setbacks in recent years and was sat on the sidelines as a cheerleader 12 months ago.

“I once again realised how much I care about Davis Cup,” he said. “And living those moments I took all this energy and I was like, ‘OK, next year, you’re going to be here, you’re going to be fighting for Italy’.

“I used that as an engine for the training sessions and everything that happened afterwards.”

With agencies

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