Jannik Sinner has capped his breathtaking finish to his banner 2023 season by leading Italy to its first Davis Cup title since 1976 after defeating Australian Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-0 in Malaga on Sunday night.
After saving three match points to defeat World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Saturday’s semi-finals, Sinner converted the 1-0 lead provided by Matteo Arnaldi’s three-set win over Alexei Popyrin into a championship-clinching result with his crushing victory over De Minaur, whom he now leads 6-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
Following the US Open, Sinner won 20 of his last 22 matches of the season, a run that included ATP 500 titles in Beijing and Vienna, and a runner-up finish in the Nitto ATP Finals to Djokovic, whom he beat in an epic three-setter in group play in Turin.
Sinner, 22, finishes the year with a personal-best 64-15 record on the season and at a year-end career-high No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings..
Earlier in the day Arnaldi gave Italy a 1-0 lead after staring down eight break points in the deciding set against Popyrin.
In contrast to the opportunities missed by Popyrin, the 22-year-old seized the moment when presented with his first match point in the 10th game of the decider to emphatically close out a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 victory in two hours and 27 minutes.
It was vindication for the former Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier, who squandered three match points against Botic van de Zandschulp in Italy's 2-1 win over The Netherlands.
"I didn't play much in the last few weeks, so I was happy after the first match even if I lost," Arnaldi said. "Now I have won one of the most important matches in my life."