Jannik Sinner ‘one of the best world No 1s in history’, claims Davis Cup rival
Jannik Sinner has been described as one of the best world No 1s in tennis history by Argentina’s Davis Cup captain Guillermo Coria.
Coria admitted he and his team were not surprised by Sinner’s level after the Italian led his nation to victory over Argentina in the quarter-finals at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
Sinner dug Italy out of a hole after Lorenzo Musetti’s loss to Francisco Cerundolo in the opening rubber left the defending champions trailing 0-1 in the best-of-three match format.
The two-time Grand Slam champion dismantled world No 27 and Argentine No 1 Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-1 to level the tie and force a decisive doubles match.
Italy captain Filippo Volandri selected two singles stars, Sinner and Matteo Berrettini, after initially nominating doubles specialists Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
The duo delivered with an impressive 6-4, 7-5 victory over Argentine doubles veterans Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni to book Italy’s spot in the semi-finals in Malaga.
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Sinner’s impressive efforts came just four days after he sealed a dominant ATP Finals title run with a win over Taylor Fritz in last Sunday’s final in Turin.
Coria, a former world No 3, gave Sinner the highest praise after his side’s exit from the competition and revealed he had expected Sinner to play in the event of a deciding doubles match.
“We all knew Sinner’s level, the moment he is in. We faced one of the best number ones in history. His level did not surprise us at all,” the former French Open finalist said.
“Because of that, one has to take into account three important things: how our players are physically, also the power of the rival and the alternatives we have to form in each of the points.
“Italy showed great respect for our doubles, leaving out a very competitive pair that came from the Finals and fielding the No 1 in the world even with little rest behind him.
“We were almost sure that it would have gone like this in the event of 1-1. Gonzalez and Molteni were prepared for this eventuality and I never thought of putting a singles player in their place. They deservedly won, we congratulate them.”
Sinner will take on Australia in the last four of the Davis Cup Final 8 on Saturday. The winner will face either Germany or the Netherlands, who will contest the first semi-final today.
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