Recent Davis Cup history is colored blue. Italy it returned to lift the salad bowl for the second time in its history in 2023, 47 years after the first and until then only victory, albeit legendary, in 1976, which was repeated the following year. The rise of the national team captained by Volandri to the top of the national team tennis tournament was undoubtedly rhythmic Sinner Jannik, absolute protagonist and driving force in singles and doubles.
But Davis, as well as the history of tennis in Italy, also changed Sinner’s own history. Since his triumph in 2023, Jannik has never stopped until he reached first place in the ATP rankings and won the ATP Finals for two years in a row, most recently beating Carlos Alcaraz in the final a few days ago. It all happened, or almost, in the semifinals, when Sinner faced Novak Djokovic with Italy already trailing 1-0 in their match against Serbia and three match points available to Nole.
Davis Cup, a point that changed history
Sinner-Djokovic on November 25 2023 still held 1-1 after the first two sets. In the third set, Djokovic led 5-4 and 0-40 in the tenth game. One point and Serbia were through to the final, with Nole ‘only’ having to convert one of three available break points. Sinner, however, kept his cool, canceling match points one by one and returning things to balance, to then win in a comeback and put off the question of qualifying for the doubles, which Italy would win the following day.
These points, when viewed through today’s eyes, are the true embodiment of Sinner’s tennis game. The first break point to be aborted came due to a backhand error by Djokovic, who was fatigued by prolonged exchanges from the baseline of the match. For the second he relied on his first, with Nole’s forehand hitting the back of the net, while the third disappeared with one of his favorite combinations, serve and forehand, and the exchange closed with a speeding volley. The rest, they say, is history.
