The championship tie of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals will feature Jannik Sinner and Italy against an upstart Dutch side. Botic van de Zandschulp has come up big for the Netherlands in the No. 2 singles position.
Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs. Tallon Griekspoor (NED)
Sinner and Griekspoor will be going head-to-head for the sixth time in their careers when they clash in the final of the Davis Cup Finals between Italy and the Netherlands on Sunday in Malaga. All five of their previous encounters have gone Sinner’s way, including three on indoor hard courts–all in straight sets. Griekspoor managed to take a set in each of their two most recent meetings, both this season at the Miami Masters and on the grass of Halle.
Those are relatively encouraging results for Griekspoor, but another indoor matchup against the current version of Sinner gives the Dutchman a dire outlook. The world No. 1 is 26-1 in his last 27 matches dating back to the Cincinnati Masters and is coming off a sweep of the Nitto ATP Finals. Sinner has remained red hot with straight-set wins this week over Argentina’s Sebastian Baez and Australia’s Alex de Minaur. Griekspoor is 1-1 with a loss to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and a three-set defeat of Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff. Even though the world No. 40 is playing well, it’s hard to see him seriously testing Sinner.
Pick: Sinner in 2
Matteo Berrettini (ITA) vs. Botic van de Zandschulp (NED)
Van de Zandschulp has been the unexpected star of the Davis Cup Finals so far. He ended Rafael Nadal’s career with quarterfinal victories in both singles and doubles and then survived a wild three-setter against German Daniel Altmaier on Friday.
The world No. 80 will try to cap off his dream week in style when he battles Berrettini for the fifth time. Unfortunately for the Dutch team, this matchup is almost as lopsided as Sinner vs. Griekspoor. Berrettini has won all four of their previous contests, including a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Davis Cup victory earlier this season during the group stage. They faced each other again two months ago in Tokyo, where the world No. 35 cruised 6-3, 6-4. Berrettini has also been outstanding in Malaga, winning a decisive doubles rubber with Sinner against Argentina and then outlasting Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-5 in a match the Aussies absolutely had to have. The pressure is on Van de Zandschulp knowing he pretty much has to win this rubber, and–that factor aside–Berrettini is already the superior player.
Pick: Berrettini in 2
who ya got?
Pax Romana!….Italy wins both 2