— Matteo Berrettini secured Italy’s lead in the Davis Cup final on Sunday, defeating Botic van de Zandschulp with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-2. This victory positioned No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner to potentially clinch a second consecutive championship for Italy in this prestigious team event.
Initially, Berrettini struggled to find his rhythm against van de Zandschulp, who notably upset Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals—the last match of Nadal’s illustrious career. However, Berrettini quickly found his form, winning the final three games of the opening set with commanding play.
Despite having had one less day of rest than van de Zandschulp, Berrettini seemed slightly off his game at the start, possibly a result of fatigue or pre-match nerves. He exhibited visible signs of frustration, fidgeting with his backward white cap and placing his hands on his hips after missing a few groundstrokes.
On the other side of the net, van de Zandschulp, currently ranked 80th, remained composed. His calm demeanor showed no emotional extremes, whether positive or negative, even after his previous achievement of defeating four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz at the U.S. Open this past August.
A pivotal moment came when the score reached 4-all in the first set, as Berrettini capitalized on a loose service game from van de Zandschulp, breaking him at love due to missed first serves—which culminated in a backhand error. This victory was celebrated with enthusiasm from the predominantly Italian crowd, singing and cheering as Berrettini triumphantly raised his fist while passing the Davis Cup trophy situated near the court.
The first set concluded swiftly, and Sinner left his seat on Italy’s bench to prepare for his impending match. In the second set, van de Zandschulp faced another service challenge at 1-1, where he squandered a 40-love lead and subsequently got broken following a pair of double faults. The match was essentially decided at that juncture, as Berrettini extended his Davis Cup winning streak to eight matches.
Concluding the match, Berrettini unleashed an ace clocked at 124 mph (200 kph), followed by a service winner reaching 132 mph (213 kph). Once ranked as high as No. 6, he currently sits at No. 35 after an injury-laden couple of seasons that forced him to miss part of the annual major tournaments; he was unable to participate in two of the four this year and fell in the second round of the others.
Italy aims to become the first nation to win back-to-back Davis Cups since the Czech Republic achieved this feat in 2012 and 2013. Notably, Italy’s women’s team recently triumphed in the Billie Jean King Cup by defeating Slovakia in Malaga on Wednesday.
This is the Netherlands’ first-ever appearance in the Davis Cup final. Sinner is set to face 40th-ranked Tallon Griekspoor to attempt to finalize the best-of-three-match final held on the indoor hard court at Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena.
Entering the match, Sinner possessed an impressive 72-6 record this year, with eight titles under his belt, including Grand Slam victories at the Australian Open and U.S. Open, as well as a recent title at the ATP Finals. He has maintained an unbeaten streak in his last 13 tour-level singles matches, taking 24 consecutive sets in the process.
