Italian Tennis President Angelo Binaghi said that Jannik Sinner was "right" when the world No. 2 stated that Italy's Davis Cup team was "incredible" even without him in the lineup.
After announcing that he would not join the Italian team for the Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna, Sinner received some strong criticism and backlash in his country. In one of his interviews given to an Italian publication, the four-time Grand Slam champion insisted that the public should have a different perspective and realize that their Davis Cup team didn't necessarily need him to be a legitimate contender for the title.
"We have an incredible team even without me, and no ones talking about it. We have to do without the world number 26, who right now is Darderi. We can afford not to call the world number 26 in the Davis Cup because we have Cobolli, Musetti, and so many others: we have an incredible doubles team! We can win even like that, we still have Berrettini, so the chances of winning the Davis Cup are high," Sinner said in early November.
ADVERTISEMENT
Italy ended up winning the Davis Cup without Sinner
After Sinner withdrew, Italy suffered another setback when world No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti also pulled out of the Davis Cup Final in Bologna. Italy was then represented by 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, Flavio Cobolli, Lorenzo Sonego, and doubles stars Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori. Not only did the Italian team win the Davis Cup title, but they did it without any of their ties in Bologna going to a deciding doubles match.
"Jannik Sinner was right. He said we didnt need him, because we had a strong team, and thats exactly how it turned out," Italian Tennis Federation President told Italian media after the host nation's win in Bologna.
Italy has now won the last three Davis Cup editions.
