Jannik Sinner creates unique Novak Djokovic history with Davis Cup win
Djokovic celebrates after ending year as world no.1
Jannik Sinner became the first player to beat Novak Djokovic after saving three straight match points during Saturday’s Davis Cup semi-final between Italy and Serbia. The world No.4 came from 5-4 and 40-0 down during the deciding set before breaking the 24-time Grand Slam champion and serving for the match.
Sinner, 22, rebounded remarkably six days after losing in straight sets 6-3 6-3 to Djokovic at the ATP Finals. Winning the singles rubber 6-2 2-6 7-5 leveled the semi-final at 1-1 after Miomir Kecmanovic beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-7 (7-9) 6-2 6-1 earlier in the day.
That left the doubles rubber to decide who would join Australia, who beat Finland 2-0 on Friday, in Sunday’s final. Alongside his teammate Lorenzo Sonego, Sinner came out on top again as Italy defeated Serbia’s Djokovic and Kecmanovic 6-3 6-4 to take the 2-1 team victory.
Saturday’s victories over the world No.1 meant Sinner has three wins over Djokovic in 11 days. He beat the 36-year-old for the first time during the ATP Finals group stage 7-5 6-7(5) 7-6(2).
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But it is the second of those trio of triumphs that Sinner made history with “Match of my life? I don’t know, but it’s, for sure, very important,” he said. “It helps a lot that the last competition of the season is a team competition, because you get a lot of energy from your teammates, from the whole team, and then the crowd is different too. I really enjoyed playing today. It was a great match. At the end of the match, I was really happy for the team to be at least able to play a deciding doubles.”
Djokovic, meanwhile, was magnanimous in defeat. “Congratulations to Italy for qualifying for the final,” he said. “They deserved it. They played really well, particularly Jannik, in singles against me and then doubles as well. He barely missed a ball in the entire match. For (me) personally, it’s a huge disappointment, because I take the responsibility, obviously having three match balls, and being so close to winning it. When you lose for your country, the bitter feeling is even greater.”
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Those feelings understandably contrast with Sinner’s, who is coming to the culmination of a breakout season on the ATP Tour. That success started in February when the Italian won the Open Sud de France without dropping a single set.
Since then, he has triumphed in Canada, China and Vienna to take his tally of titles to 10. The former was his maiden Masters 1000 trophy, having twice lost the Miami Open final over the last three years.
The summer also saw Sinner reach a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time. A year after making the quarter-finals three times in 2022, he finally broke through by being among the final four at Wimbledon before losing in straight sets to Djokovic.
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