Brazil’s surprise 2-0 win over Belgium takes Italy to the Final 8 in Malaga to defend the Davis Cup they won last year. Tomorrow the commitment with the remains to be honoredNetherlandsbut the worst is done, the pass is already sealed. The precedents should leave captain Filippo Volandri calm, at least from a superstitious point of view. After beating Brazil and Belgium (both 2-1) in Group A of the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna, the Azzurri will face Van de Zandschulp and his teammates. Jannik Sinner is also expected to cheer on his teammates in the stands of the Unipol Arena. The Azzurri and the Orange will meet for the tenth time: so far the former have won eight of the nine matches and the only defeat dates back to 1923. The best placing of the Netherlands in the Davis Cup is the semifinal in 2001. On that occasion they managed to beat Spain and Germany, before losing against France. Against Brazil and Belgium Volandri varied his ‘scheme’, alternating as number 1 Matteo Arnaldi (hard-fought victory against Monteiro and shivers from a slight ankle sprain) and Flavio Cobolli (defeat in the third set against Bergs), always however trusting in the solidity and experience of Berrettini.
The Dutch captain, Paul Haarhuis, has always confirmed the same lineup: Tallon Griekspoor (28 years old, number 39 in the ATP ranking) and Botic Van de Zandschulp (28 years old, number 68) on the court for the two singles and the former number 1 (currently dropped to number 16) Wesley Koolhof – paired with Van de Zandschulp himself – for the doubles. Griekspoor had a 2024 of ups and downs, reaching at most a couple of semifinals during the year, both at home (Rotterdam and ‘s-Hertogenbosch) and on fast surfaces. In Davis he has a record of 10 wins and eight defeats in singles. Against Italy in the quarterfinal of the 2023 edition he lost in singles with Sinner and, in doubles with Wesley Koolhof, against Sinner and Sonego in Malaga. Van de Zandschulp had a career-high ranking of No. 22 in 2022. Arriving in Bologna on the heels of his success over Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the US Open, he played two singles matches in this edition of the Finals: he defeated Belgian Raphael Collignon and lost to eighteen-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca. He also played doubles, for the first time in his national team career, alongside Koolhof. The two got the decisive point for the 2-1 win over Brazil by beating Matos and Melo. In addition to Jesper De Jong (No. 131 in the world), there are also doubles players Koolhof and Robin Haas. The challenge will be opened by Nos. 2 Berrettini and Van de Zandschulp (2-0 in favor of the Roman), followed by Griekspoor and Arnaldi (or Cobolli, if the Sanremo player is not 100% fit, but there is optimism). Once again, doubles could decide the match.