BOLOGNA. Perhaps inspired by the support of the excellent fan Jannik Sinnerwho the night before, at dinner, had also given a speech to the team, in Bologna Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli They did not disappoint expectations, and by beating Botic Van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor respectively, they gave Italy the victory over Holland and also the certainty of the top spot in the group which gave them access to the Davis Cup Finals which will take place in Malaga, where it is likely that the world number will be there not only to be a fan. The objective of the Italtennis, not even so hidden, is to reconquer the salad bowl, in the meantime the successes of the Unipol Arena are a good viaticum on the road to the hope of making it. The first to open the dance was Berrettini, who at the end of the match first went to hug Sinner, with whom he had chatted at length before the match, and whose presence, Matteo then explained, “It gave me a nice boost and a little bit of pressure too. But Jannik – he added speaking to Supertennis – was the icing on the cake of a spectacular week”.
He then added that in Malaga “we will try with all of ourselves and I hope to be there. We have the strongest player in the world, the most compact team in the world and the most passionate fans in the world”. In the meantime, beating Van de Zandschulp in 2 hours and 22 minutes of play was more complicated than expected because the Roman tennis player won in a comeback after having lost the first set to his rival 6-3. The best Berrettini was on the court, but he was able to get back into the match, despite having wasted too many, i.e. six break points, in the second set. All this did not prevent him from winning 6-4, and then repeating, with the same score, in the third set. “The whole team pushed me to success – Matteo then wanted to underline -. And then it will be the home atmosphere, the crowd, the fact that playing in front of you is special and that I have dreamed of it since I was a child. Today I expected a difficult match, and my opponent surprised me positively but in the end it was a break, I knew I had to grit my teeth and try to get one, and so it was in the second while in the third I needed two. I am proud of how I fought today because this is really special”.
Also smiling is the debutant Flavio Cobolli who, against Griekspoor, won with head and heart. The Roman took to the court after the success of his friend Matteo Berrettini on Botic Van de Zandschulp, against the Dutch number 1 Tallon Griekspoor. And he started off in the best way, winning the first set in the tie-break 7-4. But the Dutchman extended the match to the third set, in which he was good at isolating himself from the chants, drums and deafening trumpets, but in the end it wasn’t enough to win. Cobolli, who showed concrete progress, closed the match with a forehand down the line from the left that for the Italian and the entire crowd was also a cry of victory. “I realized the dream I had as a child – the words of the young Roman -, I am happy and proud of myself. This is not my victory, but that of the team. Without the warmth and support of everyone it would not have ended like this. Sinner? Before the match he told me to have fun, coming from him it is very important for me”.
(photo Ansa/Max Cavallari)
2024-09-16 06:04:35