Jannik Sinner leads Italy to Davis Cup title! - With Ben Lewis

Tennis And Bagels Podcast

Jannik Sinner went from triple match point down to beating Novak Djokovic twice in the same day and leading Italy to it's first Davis Cup title since 1976. Not things you achieve everyday! After a supreme change in dynamics after reaching his first Grand Slam Semi-final at Wimbledon, Sinner went on to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Canada, and backed it up with a tremendous fall season, winning titles in Beijing and Vienna and reaching the final at the ATP Finals in Turin, in front of his home fans.

Now ranked World No. 4, Jannik Sinner got two wins in three matches against the legendary Novak Djokovic, who finished the year as the World No. 1 for a record-breaking 8th year, and won three of the four Grand Slam titles of 2023. While glory at the ATP Finals was denied by the Serb, Sinner did not throw away his opportunity to make his country proud, lifting the Davis Cup trophy with his teammates, playing alongside Matteo Arnaldi, Lorenzo Sonego, Lorenzo Musetti, and cheered on by former Top 10 Matteo Berrettini on the team bench. What a year for Italy!

Ben Lewis joins Andre in this week's podcast to talk about Canada's unlucky week at the Davis Cup, point out the silver lining of Milos Raonic's return to the team. With a tough loss in the quarter-finals to Finland, Team Canada goes back to the qualifying stage of the Davis Cup.

Ben and Andre chat about this year's shortcomings, pointing that Gabriel Diallo's match was the coin toss, but he could not produce the tennis he managed during the group stage and that allowed him to win his second title on the challenger tour in the fall. To top the less than ideal week, Vasek Pospisil's woes were back, as he could not shake off what appeared to be a shoulder injury, and Canada bowed out 2-1 to Finland, as Felix Auger-Aliassime was unfit to play, with a lower-body injury. What will then be of the Canadians in 2024? Can Felix Auger-Aliassime get back into the Top 10? How far will Milos Raonic go before he calls it a career? Can the big-serving Canadian win another title (maybe the last edition of the Hall of Fame Open in Newport on grass?) And what awaits Denis Shapovalov, who decided to call it a season after a tough Round of 16 loss to Roman Safiullin at Wimbledon?

Let us know what you think!

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