The Davis Cup has taken over the tennis calendar, with various nations having been fighting it out for a spot in the Final 8.
The seven champions from the second round qualifiers now move to the Final 8, where they are joined by hosts Italy.
Italy won the Davis Cup in 2024, having defeated the Netherlands 2-0 in Malaga, while they did the same to Australia in the 2023 final.
Jannik Sinner is the current star of the Italian team, with the four-time Grand Slam champion playing a key role in both victories.
But perhaps he still has a long way to go before he can claim the role of Italy’s greatest-ever Davis Cup player.
He holds the record for the most wins in Davis Cup history
That title goes to Nicola Pietrangeli, who has 120 Davis Cup wins to his name, more than any other player in the history of the event.
He played a total of 164 rubbers for Italy in 66 ties, and holds the record for most total wins and most singles wins.
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Pietrangeli has a 78-32 win-loss record in singles, and a 42-12 win-loss record in doubles, for a total record of 120-44.
Impressively, the Italian legend also represented one-half of the most successful doubles pairing in Davis Cup history.
Pietrangeli and Orlando Sirola won 34 of their 42 doubles rubbers, having played together at the event for nine years.
| Total W-L | Singles W-L | Doubles W-L | No. of Ties |
| 120-44 | 78-32 | 42-12 | 66 |
How did Nicola Pietrangeli win his two Grand Slam titles?
Italian legend Pietrangeli has, of course, gone down in tennis history for more than just his superb Davis Cup feats.
He is a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, with both of his titles arriving at the French Championships, now the French Open.
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1959 | French Championships | Clay | Ian Vermaak | 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 1960 | French Championships | Clay | Luis Ayala | 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1961 | French Championships | Clay | Manuel Santana | 6–4, 1–6, 6–3, 0–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 1964 | French Championships | Clay | Manuel Santana | 3–6, 1–6, 6–4, 5–7 |
Pietrangeli claimed back-to-back titles in 1959 and 1960, while his success certainly wasn’t limited to singles.
He also claimed the French Championships mixed doubles title in 1958, and the doubles title at the event in 1959, alongside Sirola.
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