Jannik Sinner showed his class after helping Italy defend their Davis Cup title. The world No. 1 delivered the final blow to the Netherlands, beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(2) 6-2 to win the team event for his country for the second year in a row.
Retirement has been a major talking point during Finals week in Malaga. Rafael Nadal officially ended his career on Tuesday while gold-badge umpire Carlos Bernardes also officiated his last match.
And Dutch star Wesley Koolhof officially called time on his career as his nation suffered defeat in the final. After sealing the win, Sinner made sure to pay tribute to the former doubles No. 1.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Koolhof confirmed it would be his last and linked up with one of his old partners, Nikola Mektic, for his last year on tour.
It was a wildly successful one – they won three Masters titles together in Indian Wells, Shanghai and Paris, qualified for the ATP Finals and finished the year inside the top 10. Koolhof’s run didn’t stop when he joined the Dutch squad in Malaga.
He teamed up with Botic van de Zandschulp to beat Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers in a decisive doubles rubber on Tuesday night, knocking out one of the title favourites in the Spanish team.
Koolhof didn’t get to play another match – the Netherlands beat Germany 2-0 in the singles matches in their semi-final and Italy got the final done in the singles so doubles wasn’t needed. But Sinner still wanted to make sure the 35-year-old had his moment.
The entire Italian team was interviewed on court after Sinner downed Griekspoor to secure the trophy. When it was his turn, the world No. 1 was asked about his incredible season. He briefly answered before turning the attention to Koolhof.
“I just want to say a couple of words for Wesley Koolhof, he had an amazing career,” the 23-year-old said.
“I think everyone is asking why he is retiring because he played amazingly the end of the year and the whole year and I wish him all of the best. He is a nice man.”
Sinner also wanted to thank one of his teammates, Matteo Berrettini. The former world No. 6 wasn’t in the winning squad when Italy lifted the title 12 months ago after picking up a season-ending injury but he still came out to cheer them on.
He was subbed into the team just before Finals week began, replacing Flavio Cobolli. Berrettini and Sinner won a decisive doubles match against Argentina in the quarter-final and the 28-year-old won both of his singles matches against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Van de Zandschulp.
After their victory, Sinner added: “For me, it means so much to me also because last year Matteo was not here as a player but he supported us which gave us a lot of strength.
“And this year, sharing this moment especially with this group – Lorenzo, Simone, Andrea and Matteo, it means so much to me. I’m very happy and honoured to be part of this.”
