Jannik Sinner and Italy are looking to defend the Davis Cup title after winning the competition in 2023.
Sinner has enjoyed a career-best year on the ATP Tour in 2024 and will be looking to cap it off with a second Davis Cup title in Malaga.
The Italian helped bring home his nation’s first Davis Cup crown in 48 years when he beat Australia’s Alex de Minaur to secure the title in 2023.
Sinner carried that momentum into the 2024 season as he started the year in sensational form.
Sinner won the Australian Open in January, beating Daniil Medvedev in the final, the first Major trophy of his career.
He followed it up with further Grand Slam success later in the year, as Sinner beat Taylor Fritz to win the US Open.
The 23-year-old proved that it wasn’t a fluke earlier this month, as Sinner won the ATP Finals, beating Fritz twice more en route to the title.
An unbelievable year for the Italian, and one that has seen recognition from several tennis legends, one of which is predicting a lot more success in Sinner’s future.
Feliciano Lopez says Jannik Sinner will ‘definitely’ win more than ten Grand Slam titles
2024 Davis Cup Finals tournament director Feliciano Lopez spoke to Corriere dello Sport ahead of the tournament and gave his thoughts on Sinner’s incredible season.
“This year he has had a season beyond all logic, winning an unreal number of matches,” he said.
“There is no doubt, he deserves to be number 1 in the world.
“If there’s one thing more impressive than the intensity of his tennis, it’s his ability to keep the bar high.
“Everyone else has their ups and downs, but he doesn’t.
“If I think about it, two years ago he was a different player and today he still wants to improve, so I imagine how he could play if he continued like this.”
The Spaniard was then asked to predict how many Grand Slam titles he thinks Sinner will win in his career.
“It’s hard to say,” said Lopez.
“I’m often asked about [Carlos] Alcaraz.
“He’ll definitely be in double figures, let’s say 14.”
Is Jannik Sinner already Italy’s greatest-ever tennis player?
Italy is a proud sporting nation, and few countries support their own more passionately than the Italians.
With Sinner leading the charge on the ATP Tour, and Paolini impressing throughout 2024 in the women’s game, we may well be entering the ‘golden era’ of Italian tennis.
But at just 23-years-old, is Sinner already Italy’s greatest tennis export?
| Name | Best Grand Slam result | Career-high ranking | ATP/WTA titles |
| Jannik Sinner | W – 2024 Australian Open, W – 2024 US Open | 1 | 18 |
| Nicola Pietrangeli* | W – 1959 French Open, W – 1960 French Open | 3 | 44 |
| Adriano Panatta | W – 1976 French Open | 4 | 10 |
| Francesca Schiavone | W – 2010 French Open | 4 | 8 |
| Flavia Pennetta | W – 2015 US Open | 6 | 11 |
| Jasmine Paolini | F – 2024 French Open, F – 2024 Wimbledon | 4 | 2 |
| Sara Errani | F – 2012 French Open | 5 | 9 |
| Matteo Berrettini | F – 2021 Wimbledon | 6 | 10 |
| Roberta Vinci | F – 2015 US Open | 7 | 10 |
Already it looks hard to argue that Sinner is the greatest player to hail from Italy, even if his career is just getting started.
It’s tough to judge him against fellow multiple-Grand Slam winner, Nicola Pietrangeli, as his titles came prior to the start of the Open era.
One of just five Italians to win a Major title, Sinner’s achievements in his career to date certainly warrant his spot at the top of the pile.
Sinner will return to the court to face off against Sebastian Baez at the Davis Cup on Thursday.
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