Jannik Sinner’s spectacular 2024 season has come to an end in the best way as the world No. 1 helped Italy retain their Davis Cup title.
The Italian squad lifted the trophy 12 months ago, ending a 47-year wait to win the World Cup of tennis. And they’ve now defended their crown, beating the Netherlands in Sunday’s final.
Sinner beat Tallon Griekspoor to seal victory for his country and ends the season with a 73-6 record. It means he has matched Roger Federer’s incredible feat – not losing any match in straight sets all year.
Federer had previously been the only man in history to go a whole season without losing in straights, doing so in 2005. Even at their most dominant, no one else had been able to avoid a one-sided defeat until now.
Sinner played his final match of the year at the Davis Cup Finals, downing the Netherlands’ top man Griekspoor 7-6(2) 6-2. The world No. 1 needed four match points to get the job done but he got over the line for his country.
It was his 73rd and final victory of 2024, and it means he’s only lost six matches. The 23-year-old hasn’t lost an official match since the beginning of October, when Carlos Alcaraz beat him in a tight three-set final at the China Open.
Alcaraz also has two other wins over Sinner this season – a four-setter at the French Open and another three-set clash in Indian Wells.
Sinner also lost his Monte Carlo semi-final to Stefanos Tsitsipas, a Wimbledon quarter-final to Daniil Medvedev and a Canadian Open quarter-final clash to Andrey Rublev. All three matches went to a decider.
The Davis Cup title is the cherry on the cake for the dominant star. Sinner won his first two Grand Slam titles and reached No. 1 for the first time this year. He also won his maiden ATP Finals trophy and lifted five other titles.
The world No. 1 has reached at least the quarter-final of every single event he’s played. And he helped Italy retain their Davis Cup title in Malaga this week. Sinner won every match he was involved in – three singles contests and a decisive doubles rubber with Matteo Berrettini.
The Davis Cup had been a defining moment for Sinner in 2023. He saved three match points against Novak Djokovic in the Italy vs Serbia semi-final last year and went on to beat Djokovic in both the singles and doubles before Italy downed Australia in the final.
Since then, Sinner has been unstoppable. Matteo Berrettini also played a pivotal role in helping Italy keep hold of their trophy. The former world No. 6 couldn’t represent his nation last year after ending his season due to injury.
He was still in the stadium to cheer the team onto victory. But this time around he got to compete for his country, winning in the doubles with Sinner and coming out on top in both of his singles matches.
Berrettini was also a crucial member of the team during the group stage in September, when Sinner was not part of the squad. Along with Matteo Arnaldi, Flavio Cobolli and doubles star Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli, they booked their spot in the Final 8 in Malaga.
Italy is the first nation to defend their Davis Cup title since the Czech Republic in 2013. The Italian women also won the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week. They are the first country to sweep the men’s and women’s team tournaments since the Russian Tennis Federation did it three years ago.
