Week 47 (Davis Cup – finals)

…2023…

After the Davis Cup structure renewal, Spain has been hosting the finals since 2019 (the initial two editions were held in Madrid, followed by another two in Málaga). However, the oldest team competition in tennis didn’t take place in 2020 due to Covid-19. This year, Spain surprisingly failed to secure a spot among the top eight teams. Nevertheless, the atmosphere remained vibrant, largely thanks to the Finnish fans who filled the Martin Carpena Arena from Fuengirola (home to the second-largest community of Finns outside Finland). The Finns emerged as a revelation in this year’s competition, yet their dream of creating an enormous sensation was halted in the semifinals by Australians who finished as a runner-up second year running.
Novak Đoković had aspirations for something extraordinary: winning the Davis Cup with Serbia in a span of thirteen years (in 2010, he did not clinch the decisive match, but he was the architect of the success). Nevertheless, his third encounter against Jannik Sinner [4] within two weeks dealt a significant blow – the Serb squandered a triple match point in a game that could have propelled Serbia into the final. Two hours later, he suffered another loss (this time in doubles) to Sinner – the 22-year-old red-haired South-Tyrolean, who’d bypassed the “Group stage” in September, emerged as an unquestionable leader of the Italian team in the “Knockout stage” – winning all three of his singles matches and, with the assistance of Lorenzo Sonego, also securing victories in two doubles matches. Matteo Arnaldi [44] – Sinner’s age-mate – made substantial contributions too, aiding Italy in reclaiming the Cup after forty-seven years (won when Adriano Panatta, the then-reigning French Open champion, led Italy to triumph).

…1993…

In week number 48 of 1993 (as week 47 was designated for the doubles ‘Masters’ event won by a Dutch pair, Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis in Johannesburg), the Davis Cup final saw the Germans employ a strategy reminiscent of the Americans three years prior. They chose to host Australia on clay, clearly an indoor setting due to the weather, aiming to neutralize the Aussie players’ serve-and-volley style. The captain from Down Under, Neal Fraser (b. 1933) had limited changes in the lineup, again depending on his most reliable clay-court player, Richard Fromberg, who has been a unique case as he participated in two Davis Cup finals despite never entering the Top 20. The selection for the second singles player was less evident; reportedly, Jason Stoltenberg was chosen despite his poor form post-US Open, allegedly due to winning a sparring session match against Wally Masur, that year’s US Open semifinalist. So the Australian team comprised singles players whose Nordic surnames hinted at their Teutonic ancestry.
Fraser’s surprising decision nearly paid off. Stoltenberg put up a highly competitive match against Michael Stich, who was in tremendous form after claiming the ‘Masters’ title. Stich’s brilliance shone in the pivotal doubles match; paired with a good partner, he defeated the most dominant pair of the ’90s, the Woodies. Despite having played seven hours in the two previous days, Stich’s match on Sunday seemed routine. He secured an early break for a 3:2 lead in the first set against Fromberg, and never looked back. Reflecting on the victory, Stich remarked: “Luckily, it wasn’t so difficult today. It has been a very long, but also a very successful year.” Respectable player of the late 60s/early 70s, Croatian Nikola ‘Niki’ Pilić (b. 1939) holds the distinction of being the sole team captain to claim the Davis Cup title with two different nations, leading (West) Germany to victory in 1988 / 89 – with Boris Becker as a team leader, 1993 – with Stich as a leader, and Croatia to triumph in 2005 – with Ivan Ljubičić as a leader, showcasing Pilić’s exceptional management across three decades and two different Indo-European languages.

…Finals 2023…

Málaga (Davis Cup; hard indoors)
Italy d. Australia 2-0

…Finals 1993…

Düsseldorf (Davis Cup; clay indoors)
Germany d. Australia 4-1