MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Jannik Sinner clinched Italy’s second consecutive Davis Cup title and capped his breakthrough season at the top of tennis by beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (2), 6-2 on Sunday for a 2-0 win over the Netherlands in the final of the team competition.
Matteo 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 went 4-0 in Malaga, including a victory in doubles with Berrettini against Argentina in the quarterfinals.
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.
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