Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego star as Italy make Davis Cup semi-finals with win over Netherlands
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Published 23/11/2023 at 18:28 GMT
Italy defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in their Davis Cup quarter-final tie on Thursday, with Jannik Sinner starring, winning both his singles and doubles matches. After Italy went 1-0 down in the tie, the world No. 4 levelled the scores, beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 6-1. He came back shortly after to team up with Lorenzo Sonego in their doubles match to beat Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof.
Jannik Sinner
Image credit: Eurosport
Jannik Sinner helped Italy book their place in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup on Thursday as they defeated the Netherlands 2-1.
Italy will now face the winner of Thursday night’s clash between Great Britain and Serbia as they bid for a spot in the finals.
Sinner, who was beaten in the ATP Finals by Novak Djokovic, overcame Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 6-1, helping his side recover from going a point down earlier in the day.
The Italian had a quick turnaround before he partnered up with Lorenzo Sonego to beat Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof 6-3 6-4 in the doubles match.
But it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Italians, who have now reached back-to-back semi-finals for the first time since 1998.
Matteo Arnaldi suffered defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp earlier in the morning in a close match that saw the 22-year-old Italian win the first set.
Despite that, he couldn't hold onto his lead, with the Dutchman bouncing back to clinch the second and third set after a tie-break.
Sinner, meanwhile, helped his side come back into the tie, with the 22-year-old winning the opening set of his singles match against Griekspoor through a tiebreak before breaking the world No. 23 twice to claim the second set and the match.
With all things square heading into their doubles match, Sinner and Sonego were made to work for the win by their Dutch opponents, with neither team able to break the deadlock.
The Italians finally came through in the eighth game of the first set, breaking their opponents after the Dutch pairing came back from going 30-love down to bring things level at deuce.
But the Italians were too strong, beating them on their serve before going on to win the final game of the set.
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With their tails up, Sinner and Sonego hit back in the second exchange, with the Dutch partnership dropping their serve in the seventh set.
They almost hit back in the next game, taking the Italians to deuce, before Sinner showed his experience to take the advantage and recover.
They would push on to clam the final two games before sealing the set 6-4 and their place in the semi-finals.
"It means a lot to me," Sinner said after the match. "But more importantly we're through to the semi-finals. It's the first time I can experience this.
"We were under a lot of pressure. The decision to put us on the court for doubles, we have to give a lot of credit to the captain and the team... pushing us to the limit."
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