DAVIS CUP FINALS

November 23, 2023

Paul Haarhuis

Tallon Griekspoor

Wesley Koolhof

Team Netherlands

Press Conference

SINNER-SONEGO/Griekspoor-Koolhof

6-3, 6-4

Team Italy - 2

Team Netherlands - 1

THE MODERATOR: English questions for Team Netherlands.

Q. I guess a lot of optimism going into the doubles? Wesley, in particular, you've got a lot of experience playing doubles. Paul, kind of where did it sort of not go right today?

CAPTAIN PAUL HAARHUIS: The moment Jannik landed here in Malaga. I think that's where it went wrong. (Laughter.)

No, he just played very well, singles and doubles. We know he's on fire. We know he's got confidence. And he showed it also in doubles, and he took the lead. Was serving good. Made a lot of returns, and every second shot was just so strong.

Yeah, I thought these guys played well. They created some chances on Sonego's serve, but the other guys just came up. Jannik really helped Sonego there on the moments that Sonego needed help. I felt like it was the Sinner show today.

Q. Paul, why did you change the combination?

CAPTAIN PAUL HAARHUIS: I felt that these guys would make more returns against a team like this, would struggle a little bit less on their own service games.

Yeah, and I think it would be a good combination. I think they played well, but the other guys just played better. I mean, they took it to them and that's the way it goes. You go out and you play, and sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. These guys were too strong today.

Q. Tallon, you played a close match with Jannik earlier in the year. Wondering if you could compare his level today, whether there were any areas you really noticed he's improved in that time? Wesley, what was it like coming up against Jannik on the doubles court? How impressed were you with his performance?

TALLON GRIEKSPOOR: Well, I think the match we played today was much higher quality than back in Rotterdam in February. I think he improved immensely, improved a lot.

I played well the first set, had him where I wanted to have him. He played a great tiebreak. I messed up two, three points there. I think he shows how important confidence is in tennis. He just played really well.

I feel like the second set in singles, I played all right. It was not like I played bad or I missed every shot. He just came up with two good shots. He served really. He only served first serves. Same thing in doubles. He carried the whole doubles.

I mean, he's full of confidence. He's playing super well. He improved a lot. For me, I have always been a big fan of him. I think he's one of the best players in the world. I think he has a chance of being No. 1, but yeah, like I said, too good today from him and Sonego in the doubles. Yeah, they carried each other pretty well.

WESLEY KOOLHOF: Yeah, never played Sinner before. Played Sonego a few times. You know, obviously he serves well. He returns good. Maybe not as confident at the net as doubles guys or other singles players. Same for Sonego. But I think he missed one volley, which was somewhere the end of the match where he actually wanted to let it go. The rest he made.

He served unbelievably well. I think he was around 80%, 85% first serve in. Even if he hit a second serve it was still 180. Played unbelievable.

I think Sonego maybe started a little bit shaky, but if you have such a high-class player next to you who is barely missing a shot, it's easy to just tag along and enjoy the ride, which Sonego did. Then he just started to hit even faster than Jannik.

Yeah, good job to them for bringing it today. Yeah, we were still close. Had a few breakpoints here and there. It would be a whole different match if you break early. Somehow we couldn't connect on those, and yeah, in the end, they deserved to win.

Q. I'd like to ask to Paul Haarhuis, who has been one of the best doubles players of all time, if you were surprised that Sinner played so well? Because he lost only five points on six serves in their match, and not only serving, but he was returning unbelievable and sometimes hitting someone, such good players like they are, at the net and they couldn't almost, you know, react on time. So were you surprised? Because he has almost never played doubles, not much.

CAPTAIN PAUL HAARHUIS: No, I wasn't surprised, because this is how he's been playing. He played last week. He played a little tournament in Turin. I think maybe you saw him there in Turin?

You know, was he playing okay or was he playing really good there in Turin? I mean, he's coming in with big confidence. He's having great year.

I was expecting him to be, and this is his game, is serving big, returning big. In singles he made so many returns too. So this is his game, and he's being very aggressive from the baseline.

Obviously, you know, he's not a serve-and-volley guy, but he's eager and trying to do the right things in doubles, because he's really trying to be active.

So, no, I wasn't surprised. No, I wasn't surprised by his level. And it's Davis Cup, so he has more motivation than, let's say, in January when he plays in Adelaide the first round of a doubles there. Then they usually use that for just a good warmup. Now, especially at 1-All, it's all or nothing.

So, no, I was not surprised. Maybe you were; I was not.