Jannik Sinner leads Italy past the Netherlands for its second consecutive Davis Cup title

MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Italy went nearly a quarter-century without winning the Davis Cup. Then along came Jannik Sinner, and now the country is celebrating its second consecutive title.

The No. 1-ranked Sinner clinched the championship in the annual team event and capped his breakthrough season by beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (2), 6-2 on Sunday for a 2-0 win over the Netherlands in the final of the Davis Cup.

Matteo Berrettini put Italy ahead with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp — the last man to beat Rafael Nadal — in the opening singles match on an indoor hard court at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in southern Spain.

The Italians, backed by a loud contingent of singing fans playing drums and armed with megaphones in the crowd of 9,200, became the first team to win the Davis Cup twice in a row since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013.

“We are very happy to hold this trophy again,” Sinner said. “It’s a very important competition. ... If it were not important, I wouldn’t be here.”

Italy’s women won the Billie Jean King Cup by defeating Slovakia on Wednesday.

When Sinner finished off the Davis Cup with a service winner, he raised his arms. Within seconds, Berrettini and other teammates rushed onto the court to begin the party, wrapping their arms around one another and bouncing in unison. Captain Filippo Volandri grabbed Sinner and lifted him off the ground.

It was clear who was key to this success. Sinner went 4-0 in Malaga, including a victory in doubles with Berrettini against Argentina in the quarterfinals.

Berrettini played a vital role, too, going 3-0 after replacing Lorenzo Musetti for singles in the semifinals. Berrettini was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2021, but since then went through a series of injuries and illnesses that have limited his playing time and has spoken about the mental challenges he faced.

“I didn’t miss the wins or the losses,” Berrettini said. “I missed these moments.”

He needed some time to find his groove against the 80th-ranked van de Zandschulp. But Berrettini took control by grabbing the opening set’s last three games, and Sinner left his front-row seat behind Italy’s bench to head to the locker room and prepare to close the deal.

He hit 15 aces against the 40th-ranked Griekspoor and stretched his unbeaten streak in tour-level singles competition to 14 matches and 26 sets, including a title at the ATP Finals a week ago.

Sinner's ascension is one of the year’s biggest stories in tennis. He went 73-8 with eight singles titles in 2024, with his first two Grand Slam trophies arriving at the Australian Open in January and the U.S. Open in September. The latter came shortly after he was cleared of wrongdoing in a doping case connected to two positive tests for steroids in March; the World Anti-Doping Agency’s appeal of that ruling is still pending.

The Netherlands reached the Davis Cup final for the first time.

Until last year, Italy’s only Davis Cup triumph came in 1976. So Volandri said he told his players to think of their goal this way: “We want to make history.”

Griekspoor, who fell to 0-6 against Sinner, held his own until the first-set tiebreaker, which was preceded by dueling chants of “Italia! Italia!” and “Let’s go, Tallon! Let’s go!” Sinner was steadier, more ready for the moment, and he built a substantial lead before ending it with an ace.

Griekspoor made one last stand, breaking back for 2-all, then leading 30-love on his serve in the following game, drawing roars from the orange-wearing Dutch fans. But Sinner remained steadfast, and broke for 3-2 when Griekspoor double-faulted and walked to the sideline to crack his racket against the bench.

Sinner wouldn't drop another game the rest of the way. Soon, he was joining Berrettini, Volandri, Musetti and the rest of the squad in raising the silver hardware that once again belongs to them.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates with teammates after defeating Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates with team captain Filippo Volandri as he defeats Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Italy's Jannik Sinner, center, holds the Davis Cup trophy by teammates after the final between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, as Italy wins its second consecutive Davis Cup title, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Italy's Jannik Sinner, left, hugs Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor after their Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Italy's Jannik Sinner, right, celebrates with teammates after defeating Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor to win Italy's second consecutive Davis Cup title at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Italian tennis team members hold the Davis Cup trophy after the final between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, as Italy wins its second consecutive Davis Cup title, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Dutch tennis fans gesture while Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor plays Italy's Jannik Sinner during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor reacts as he plays Italy's Jannik Sinner during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Supporters of Italy's Jannik Sinner play the drums as he plays Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts winning a point as he plays Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp reacts during his match against Italy's Matteo Berrettini during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp reacts during his match against Italy's Matteo Berrettini during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Italy's Matteo Berrettini returns the ball against Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Italy's Matteo Berrettini celebrates a point against Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel said Sunday that the body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found after he was killed in what it described as a “heinous antisemitic terror incident.”

The UAE's Interior Ministry later said authorities arrested three suspects involved in the killing of Zvi Kogan.

The statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel “will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death.” Israeli authorities did not say how they determined the killing of Kogan was a terror attack and offered no additional details.

Kogan, 28, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who went missing on Thursday, ran a kosher grocery store in the futuristic city of Dubai, where Israelis have flocked for commerce and tourism since the two countries forged diplomatic ties in the 2020 Abraham Accords.

The agreement has held through more than a year of soaring regional tensions unleashed by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack into southern Israel. But Israel's devastating retaliatory offensive in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon, after months of fighting with the Hezbollah militant group, have stoked anger among Emiratis, Arab nationals and others living in the the UAE.

Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah, has also been threatening to retaliate against Israel after a wave of airstrikes Israel carried out in October in response to an Iranian ballistic missile attack.

The Emirati government did not respond to a request for comment. However, senior Emirati diplomat Anwer Gargash wrote on the social platform X in Arabic on Sunday that “the UAE will remain a home of safety, an oasis of stability, a society of tolerance and coexistence and a beacon of development, pride and advancement.”

Early on Sunday, the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency acknowledged Kogan’s disappearance but pointedly did not acknowledge he held Israeli citizenship, referring to him only as being Moldovan. The Emirati Interior Ministry described Kogan as being “missing and out of contact.”

“Specialized authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report,” the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry later said that three “perpetrators” had been arrested “in record time” without giving additional details.

Netanyahu told a regular Cabinet meeting later Sunday that he was “deeply shocked” by Kogan's disappearance and death. He said he appreciated the cooperation of the UAE in the investigation and that ties between the two countries would continue to be strengthened.

Israel's largely ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, condemned the killing and thanked Emirati authorities for "their swift action." He said he trusts they “will work tirelessly to bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Israel also again warned against all nonessential travel to the Emirates after Kogan's killing.

“There is concern that there is still a threat against Israelis and Jews in the area,” a government warning issued Sunday said.

Kogan was an emissary of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of ultra-Orthodox Judaism based in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood in New York City. It said he was last seen in Dubai. The UAE has a burgeoning Jewish community, with synagogues and businesses catering to kosher diners.

The Rimon Market, a kosher grocery store that Kogan managed on Dubai’s busy Al Wasl Road, was shut Sunday. As the wars have roiled the region, the store has been the target of online protests by supporters of the Palestinians. Mezuzahs on the front and back doors of the market appeared to have been ripped off when an Associated Press journalist stopped by on Sunday.

Kogan’s wife, Rivky, is a U.S. citizen who lived with him in the UAE. She is the niece of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, who was killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The UAE is an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula and is also home to Abu Dhabi. Local Jewish officials in the UAE declined to comment.

While the Israeli statement did not mention Iran, Iranian intelligence services have carried out past kidnappings in the UAE.

Western officials believe Iran runs intelligence operations in the UAE and keeps tabs on the hundreds of thousands of Iranians living across the country.

Iran is suspected of kidnapping and later killing British Iranian national Abbas Yazdi in Dubai in 2013, though Tehran has denied involvement. Iran also kidnapped Iranian German national Jamshid Sharmahd in 2020 from Dubai, taking him back to Tehran, where he was executed in October.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates

A man walks past Rimon Market, a Kosher grocery store managed by the late Rabbi Zvi Kogan, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)