While Jannik Sinner and Alex de Minaur debate, that is, pointing everything towards an irremediable outcome in favor of the Italians, the good Thanasi Kokkinakis does not know very well where to get involved, because in the end the Australian luck depended largely on what he could achieve in the first match of the semifinal series. However, the defeat against Matteo Berrettini (6-7(6), 6-3 and 7-5) exposes the oceanic team at that time to the worst-case scenario: having to beat Sinner to stay alive. That is, raw-raw for his people. And so it is, because in no way does the number one forgive (6-3 and 6-4), author of the heading towards the final this Sunday (4:00 p.m., Movistar+) against the Netherlands, in which the transalpines start as undisputed favorites for being the power of the moment. Now, they should not let their guard down; Spain and Germany, brought down by the orange.
Today, there is no nation with more muscle than Italy, driven by a long-term plan that it built a decade ago and that bears abundant fruit today. This same week, on Wednesday, their women’s team was proclaimed champion of the Billie Jean King Cup – after having missed out last year – and now it is the men’s team, once again, that is aiming for a title that if achieved would be historic from a double angle: both from the combination of success between men and women, and from the fact of revalidating it; It has not been achieved since the Czech Republic did it between 2012 and 2013. The Italians, then, have a golden opportunity to round off an exceptional season, led by the triumphs of Sinner and now accompanied by the optimistic signals sent by a player who practically had disappeared from the map.
Torpedoed by injuries, from the wrist (operating room) to the foot, through the abdominal, among others, Berrettini has emerged these days as a transcendental element in his team’s progression towards the last episode of the tournament. On the first day he teamed up with Sinner to concede the decisive point in the doubles against Argentina and this Saturday it was once again fundamental, taking into account that the first pulse of the series seemed vital for both; in the case of Italy, because it would not depend on the doubles, luck dominated by the Australians, and in the case of these, because if they had achieved that victory they would have led the crossing exactly where they intended. It did not happen like this, largely thanks to the instinct recovered by the Roman, a Davis man that after two years of suffering and intermittence, it appears again.
Berrettini smiles again, once called to occupy the privileged space that Sinner monopolizes today. Wimbledon finalist in 2021 and sixth in the world a year later, she then went into a tailspin as a result of countless physical setbacks that have prevented her from having regularity. Without going any further, in January he was unable to attend the Australian Open and then missed Roland Garros, although he was able to win as consolation with the prizes in Marrakech, Gstaad and Kitzbühel. Minor achievements, but indicative that the Italian has not completely lost his edge. Now installed on step 35, in Malaga it has ended up serving as a fundamental asset. Lorenzo Musetti failed at the premiere and Filippo Volandri reacted: Berrettini, on the mat. “I am proud of Matteo’s reaction. He could have won the first set, but he didn’t. You need to talk to him a little more than to Jannik, and that’s what I did. “We achieved it together,” said the captain.
“I have missed Davis too many times and I wanted to be here again,” the protagonist, absent in the previous edition and injured in his foot, noted after Wednesday’s qualifying round. “If it were up to me, I would play even with one leg. Last year was one of the worst of my career and my life; Therefore, now I appreciate every moment more and on the court I give my best,” continues Berrettini, effective every time he plays with the shirt. azzurra; This is demonstrated by the eight victories he has achieved in the 10 individual commitments he has faced. The latter went wrong against Kokkinakis because the options of break They were flying, but he knew how to reactivate himself and seed his team’s access to the final, later materialized by Sinner. Warm one, cold the other. Enriching contrast for the Italy that emerges and dominates.
“I am inspired by his desire to always improve,” says Berrettini. “Playing against Sinner is like trying to solve a puzzle. “He doesn’t lose concentration throughout the game and in important moments he knows how to take that step forward,” De Miñaur summarizes with resignation, while the teammate who had lost the first point lamented: “I knew it was an important game…”. And finally, he fell on the side of the Roman, who after a couple of years in the mud, seems not to have given up and is trying to turn around at 28 years old. Davis is not a bad place to do it. It definitely boosted Sinner and, why not, maybe it could be a good starting point for him.
