Italian Hero: Jannik Sinner leads country past Novak Djokovic-led Serbia and into Davis Cup final

For well over 100 years, a major lure of Davis Cup has been how the team format and compressed schedule often puts solo competitors into unusual situations—such as one man having to play three best-of-five-set matches over the span of three days. Amid recent changes to the event’s format, the concern loomed that many of Davis Cup’s unique and compelling competitive demands had been significantly diminished.

But as Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, and Miomir Kecmanovic experienced first-hand Saturday in Malaga, Spain, Davis Cup still has the capacity for twists and turns unlike anything else in tennis.

The hero of the day is Sinner. It has been a year of breakthroughs for the 22-year-old Italian: first Grand Slam semifinal, first Masters 1000 title, and, just earlier this month at the ATP Finals, a first victory over Djokovic. But today marked a first of arguably even greater importance. On the same day, Sinner beat Djokovic in singles and doubles to take Italy to the finals of the Davis Cup for the first time since 1998.

Italy, winner of the Davis Cup just once back in 1976, will face 28-time champion Australia on Sunday.

“Well, congratulations to Italy for qualifying for finals,” said Djokovic. “They deserved it. They played really well, particularly Jannik, in singles against me and then doubles, as well. He barely missed the ball the entire match.”

The clincher came in doubles, Sinner partnering with Lorenzo Sonego to get past Djokovic and Kecmanovic, 6-3, 6-4, and conclusively tip the tie in Italy’s favor, 2-1. Though one would hardly say that Sinner and Sonego play doubles with the smooth orchestration of such teams as the Bryan brothers, in this case, they proved more proficient than the Djokovic-Kecmanovic duo. Power most of all made the difference, Sinner repeatedly driving the ball deep and hard down the middle—and in the process, creating openings for both himself and Sonego. A big credit here to Sinner for the work he has put in this year to improve his volleys. They proved highly useful all day long.

But the more heroic moment for Sinner came in the prior singles match. With Italy one defeat from elimination, up against Djokovic for the third time in the last ten days, Sinner found himself serving in the third set at 4-5, love-40. Fancy that: the greatest service returner of recent times stood one point away from bringing his homeland to the Davis Cup finals for the first time in ten years.

“But I had to stay in the present moment,” said Sinner.

The first point proved Djokovic’s biggest opening—a slice backhand floating long. At 15-40, a powerful wide served elicited a netted forehand return. On the next point, Sinner clipped off a crisp forehand volley winner. Two points later, an ace down the T made it 5-5.

An energized Sinner subsequently took control of the rallies, breaking Djokovic with a smooth forehand down-the-line passing shot winner. Seeking to close it out, Sinner was near flawless, holding at 15, the last serve yet another one struck wide and hard.

All told, Sinner had won 13 of the last 16 points to earn a remarkable 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 win.

Sinner’s simple description of a match that lasted two-hour and 33-minutes: “a rollercoaster.” Early on, Sinner was clearly the sharper player. He broke Djokovic at 1-2, earned another break at 1-4 and then held easily at love to take the lead.

But of course, there was zero chance of Djokovic vanishing. As the second set got underway, he began to assert himself, with his customary blend of power, depth and accuracy. Notably, Djokovic broke Sinner at 2-5, giving him the chance to start off serving in the third set.

And all through that decider, Djokovic’s serve appeared to be the difference-maker. Through his first five service games, Djokovic lost only a scant three points. The Djokovic delivery found one corner after another, constantly setting up his pinpoint groundstrokes.

Sinner’s serve games were far more challenging. At 0-1, he fought off a break point and labored through seven deuces before holding. But in the end, his best serves came when it mattered most. Though Sinner only won 42 percent of his second-serve points in the third set, he also struck seven aces.

“For me personally it's a huge disappointment,” said Djokovic, “because I take the responsibility, obviously having three match points, being so close to win it. Yeah, it's unfortunate really. This is sport. When you lose for your country, you know, the bitter feeling is even greater.”

The day’s first singles match had also featured several engaging plot points. Versus Lorenzo Musetti, Kecmanovic had taken a 5-3 lead in the first set, only to surrender the opener in a tiebreaker, 9-7. Both players were playing brilliant, powerful all-court tennis, many a rally closed out with crackling forehand swing volleys.

But as the second set advanced, Kecmanovic’s physicality began to assert itself. Musetti grew weary. While the dazzling first set lasted 72 minutes, the next two combined lasted seven minutes less, Kecmanovic running away with it, 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-1.

“It wasn’t easy at all,” said Kecmanovic. “I wasn’t positive after the first set. . . I had to switch the mindset.”

While the Italians have gone a quarter-century since reaching this stage of Davis Cup, their Australian opponents are back in the finals for the second straight year.

“The boys have done all the hard work, they deserve all these results,” said Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt. “To back up what we did last year, it’s pretty special.”

One of Hewitt’s charges, Alex de Minaur, has never beaten Sinner in five matches. The other, Alexei Popyrin, is 1-0, that victory coming back in 2021.

But for all the data surrounding recent history, nothing more than Davis Cup best personifies a statement once made in the popular comic strip, Peanuts. Listening to a recount of his team’s statistics, captain Charlie Brown at last says, “Tell your statistics to shut up!!”

For evidence, look no further to what Sinner accomplished on what may well be the best day of what’s already a tremendous tennis life.