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Italy Davis Cup team facts for kids

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Italy
Flag of Italy.svg
Captain Filippo Volandri
ITF ranking 7 Steady (20 September 2022)
First year 1922
Years played 84
Ties played (W–L) 242 (159–83)
Years in
World Group		 24 (19–23)
Davis Cup titles 2 (1976, 2023)
Runners-up 6 (1960, 1961, 1977, 1979,
1980, 1998)
Most total wins Nicola Pietrangeli (120–44)
Most singles wins Nicola Pietrangeli (78–32)
Most doubles wins Nicola Pietrangeli (42–12)
Best doubles team Orlando Sirola ,
Nicola Pietrangeli (34–8)
Most ties played Nicola Pietrangeli (66)
Most years played Nicola Pietrangeli (18)
Coppa Davis 1976 - Pietrangeli, Bertolucci, Panatta e Barazzutti
Nicola Pietrangeli, Paolo Bertolucci, Adriano Panatta ,Corrado Barazzutti with the trophy in 1976.
Nicola Pietrangeli cropped
Nicola Pietrangeli, team captain for the country's first Davis Cup championship in 1976.

The Italy men's national tennis team represents Italy in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Italian Tennis Federation. Italy are the reigning champions, claiming the Davis Cup in 2023. They are two-time champions overall, also winning in 1976, and finishing as runners-up six times (1960, 1961, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1998). Nicola Pietrangeli is one of Italy's most decorated players, featuring in all major records for the team. He holds the record for most Davis Cup ties, most overall wins, most singles wins, most doubles wins (both individually and as part of a team), and most years played.

History

Early years pre-World War II

Italy competed in its first Davis Cup in the 1922 International Lawn Tennis Challenge. Prior to World War II, Italy generally made it to the quarterfinals of the European Zone and featured in the Inter-zonal final twice – once in 1928 and once in 1930. The Inter-zonal final was the final match of competition before the Challenge Round match, where the winner would earn the right to challenge the defending champion. On both occasions, Italy lost to the United States by a scoreline of 4–1. Uberto De Morpurgo was the Davis Cup captain for both matches and was the only player to register a win in his two single rubbers.

Post World War II – 1962

Two years after the resumption of the tournament which was put on hold due to World War II, Italy made its first reappearance in 1948. Italy was very strong over this period, appearing in four Inter-zonal finals in 1949, 1952, 1955 and 1958 before finally securing its maiden Challenge Round tie in 1960. Unfortunately, Italy were unable to overcome a strong Australian team featuring Rod Laver and Neale Fraser, losing 4–1 at White City in Sydney. Italian legend, Nicola Pietrangeli managed to win Italy's only point when he defeated Fraser in a dead-rubber match on the final day. The following year, Italy were again able to reach the Challenge Round Final after defeating the United States 4–1 in the Final in Rome. Pietrangeli won both his singles matches and his doubles match. However, Italy would again fall at the final hurdle. On this occasion, Italy lost 5–0 to Australia at Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne. The Australian side would again feature Laver (in singles and doubles) and Fraser (in doubles only), and were joined by Roy Emerson who played two singles matches. The Italian side once again featured Pietrangeli and also Orlando Sirola across all five matches. In 1962, Italy lost in the European Final to Sweden 1–4.

Limited success to first Davis Cup title

Following a somewhat lean period from 1963 to 1972, which included only one European Final in 1968, Italy returned to form in the competition with mixed success. In 1973 they made a European Final before going one step further the following year, losing 4–1 to South Africa in 1974 in the Inter-zonal Semifinals. Two years later, Italy claimed its maiden Davis Cup title when they defeated Chile 4–1 at Estadio Nacional in Santiago. Italy took an early lead on Day 1, after Corrado Barazzutti and Adriano Panatta both won their singles matches. Then Italy took an unassailable 3–0 lead the following day, when Panatta teamed up with Paolo Bertolucci in the doubles, and after finding themselves one-set-to-love down, won the next three sets to win the rubber in four sets. Over the next four years, Italy would reach the Davis Cup final three times, losing all three ties.

World Group era (1981–2000)

Since the World Group format begun in 1981, Italy were able to maintain their top 16 status for twenty years. Italy finished as quarterfinalists or better in twelve of those twenty years, including two semifinal loses and one final loss. In the 2000 Davis Cup, Italy lost 4–1 away to Spain setting them up for World Group Playoff clash against Belgium. Playing at home in Rome, Italy lost the tie 4–1, meaning they would be relegated for the first time in the World Group era.

Relegation and return to World Group

After Italy's World Group playoff loss, they were relegated to Europe/Africa Zone Group I for the 2001 edition of the tournament. Italy would not return to the World Group until they defeated Chile 4–1 away in the 2011 Davis Cup World Group play-offs. Between 2013 and 2018, Italy were defeated in the Quarterfinals on four occasions and once in the Semifinals. Since the restructuring of the competition in 2019, Italy has made it into the Semifinals in 2022 and in 2023.

Overall performance

Italy has played no less than 15 semifinals. Italy has recorded eight defeats and seven wins. Of those eight losses, Italy has suffered four whitewash defeats – losing 5–0 to Australia in 1949 and 1955 and the United States in 1952 and 1958. Of the seven semifinals won, the greatest margin was a 4–1 victory, achieved on four occasions. These wins occurred in 1961 and 1998 against the United States, in 1977 against France and in 1979 against Czechoslovakia.

Recent performances

Here is the list of all match-ups since 1981, when the competition started being held in the current World Group format.

2010s

2020s

Year Competition Date Location Opponent Score Result
2020–21 Qualifying round 6–7 March Cagliari (ITA)  South Korea 4–0 Win
Finals, Round-robin 26 November Turin (ITA)  United States 2–1 Win
Finals, Round-robin 27 November Turin (ITA)  Colombia 2–1 Win
Finals, quarterfinals 29 November Turin (ITA)  Croatia 1–2 Loss
2022 Qualifying round 4–5 March Bratislava (SVK)  Slovakia 3–2 Win
Finals, Round-robin 14 September Bologna (ITA)  Croatia 3–0 Win
Finals, Round-robin 16 September Bologna (ITA)  Argentina 2–1 Win
Finals, Round-robin 18 September Bologna (ITA)  Sweden 2–1 Win
Finals, quarterfinals 24 November Málaga (ESP)  United States 2–1 Win
Finals, semifinals 26 November Málaga (ESP)  Canada 1–2 Loss
2023 Finals, Round-robin 13 september Bologna (ITA)  Canada 0–3 Loss
Finals, Round-robin 15 September Bologna (ITA)  Chile 3–0 Win
Finals, Round-robin 17 September Bologna (ITA)  Sweden 2–1 Win
Finals, quarterfinals 23 November Málaga (ESP)  Netherlands 2–1 Win
Finals, semifinals 25 November Málaga (ESP)  Serbia 2–1 Win
Finals, finals 26 November Málaga (ESP)  Australia 2–0 Champions
2024 Finals, Round-robin
Finals, Round-robin
Finals, Round-robin

Current squad

For more details, see List of Italy Davis Cup team representatives
Squad representing Italy in the 2023 Davis Cup Finals, Knockout stage
Player Born ATP ranking Debut Ties Win-loss
Singles Doubles Singles Doubles Total
Sinner, JannikJannik Sinner (2001-08-16) 16 August 2001 (age 23) 3 500 2021 7 9–1 2–3 11–4
Musetti, LorenzoLorenzo Musetti (2002-03-03) 3 March 2002 (age 22) 27 280 2021 9 2–4 1–2 3–6
Sonego, LorenzoLorenzo Sonego (1995-05-11) 11 May 1995 (age 29) 47 243 2021 10 6–3 3–0 9–3
Arnaldi, MatteoMatteo Arnaldi (2001-02-22) 22 February 2001 (age 23) 44 570 2023 4 3–1 0–1 3–2
Bolelli, SimoneSimone Bolelli (1985-10-08) 8 October 1985 (age 39) n.r. 55 2007 31 7–9 16–11 23–20

Captains

Although Italy had started its adventure in the Davis Cup back in 1922, it was only in 1928 that the team had its first captain and it was Baron Uberto De Morpurgo, who was also a player on that occasion.

Beginning in the 1950s, the team captain's position became a kind of coach called the non-playing captain.

List of Italy Davis Cup captains
Name Tenure Total Finals Best result
W Years F Years S Years
Uberto de Morpurgo 1928–?
Vasco Valerio [it] 1965–1968 4 QF 1968
Orlando Sirola 1969–1971 3 3R 1969
Giordano Maioli 1972 1 3R 1972
Fausto Gardini 1973–1975 3 SF 1974
Nicola Pietrangeli 1976–1977 3 1 1976 1 1977 n/a
Bitti Bergamo [it] 1978–1979 2 1 19791 n/a
Vittorio Crotta 1979–1983 4 2 19791, 1980 n/a
Adriano Panatta 1984–1997 14 SF 1996, 1997
Paolo Bertolucci 1998–2000 3 1 1998 n/a
Corrado Barazzutti 2001–2020 20 SF 2014
Filippo Volandri 2021– 3 1 2023 n/a

Individual and team records

Record Details Report
Youngest player 17 years, 327 days Diego Nargiso versus Israel in 1988 World Group, first round
Oldest player 38 years, 279 days Nicola Pietrangeli versus Romania in 1972 Europe Zone A, semifinals
Longest rubber duration 4 hours, 29 minutes Federico Luzzi defeated Ville Liukko (FIN) in 2001 Europe/Africa Zone Group I, quarterfinals
Longest tie duration 13 hours, 45 minutes Italy defeated Poland in 2004 Europe/Africa Zone Group II, Final
Longest tie-break 30 points (16–14) Paolo Lorenzi defeated Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) in 2016 World Group, first round
Longest final set 28 games (15–13) Nestor / Pospisil (CAN) defeated Bracciali / Fognini in 2013 World Group, quarterfinals
Most games in a set 38 (20–18) Alex Olmedo (USA) defeated Orlando Sirola in 1958 Inter-zonal Final
Most games in a rubber 79 Barry MacKay (USA) defeated Nicola Pietrangeli in 1960 Inter-zonal Final
Most games in a tie 281 Italy defeated United States in 1960 Inter-zonal Final
Most decisive victory (best of 5 rubbers) 15 sets (15–0) Italy defeated Monaco in 1968 Europe Zone A, quarterfinals
Most decisive victory (best of 3 rubbers) 4 sets (6–2) Italy defeated Croatia in 2022 Davis Cup Finals, Group A
Longest winning run 9 ties 1976 Europe Zone B, preliminary round Quarterfinal – 1977 Inter-zonal Semifinal (from 30 April 1976 until 16 September 1977)

Most ties and wins

Performance timeline

The Italian team has participated in 91 editions of the Davis Cup since 1922.

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Z# PO A NH P
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (P) postponed or continued into following year; (NH) not held.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the team's participation has ended.
1921–1940 Challenge Round era
Part 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
17 A 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 3R SF 3R SF 3R QF 3R 3R 2R A 3R 3R 3R NH
1941–1960 Challenge Round era
Part 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
13 NH NH NH NH NH A A 4R SF 4R 4R SF 4R 3R SF QF 5R SF QF F
1961–1980 Challenge Round era Zonal
Part 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
20 F QF 1R 3R 3R 3R 3R QF 3R 1R 2R 3R QF SF 2R W F 2R F F
1981–2000 World Group
Part 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00
20 1R QF QF QF 1R QF 1R QF 1R QF 1R QF QF 1R QF SF SF F 1R 1R
2001–2020 World Group DCF
Part 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
20 PO Z2 Z2 Z3 PO PO PO Z2 PO PO PO 1R QF SF 1R QF QF QF RR P
2021–2040 Davis Cup Finals
Part 21 22 23
3 QF SF W

Results

Key to eras and positions result

  • Challenge Round era (until 1971): The previous Davis Cup Champion would have a bye to and host the Challenge Round Final. Thus the losing team in the Final (or Inter-zonal final) was the third-placed team. For the purposes of this table, the third placed team is grouped as semifinalists and the Zonal finalists (fourth and fifth placed teams) are grouped as quarterfinalists.
  • 1972–1980: The previous Davis Cup Champion now had to compete in all rounds. There were four zones consisting of America, Eastern, Europe A and Europe B, with the competition culminating in a four team knockout between zonal winners. The zonal finalists were the equivalent of Davis Cup quarterfinalists.
  • Since 1981: World Group (1981–2018), Davis Cup Finals (from 2019) consisting of 16 or 18 teams.
  • Abbreviations: POW = Winner of World Group Playoff (1981–2018); POL = Lost in World Group Playoff (1981–2018); GS = Did not advance past the Group Stage of the Davis Cup Finals (from 2019); DNQ = Did not qualify for World Group Playoff

Results table

Result Total Challenge Round era
(until 1971)		 Post-Challenge Round era
1972–1980 Since 1981
# Years # Years # Years
Champions 2 0
—
 1 1976 1 2023
Runners-Up 6 2 1960, 1961 3 1977, 1979, 1980 1 1998
Semifinalists 11 6 1928, 1930, 1949, 1952, 1955, 1958 1 1974 4 1996, 1997, 2014, 2022
Quarterfinalists 20 5 1932, 1956, 1959, 1962, 1968 1 1973 14 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992,
1993, 1995, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020–21
Other results
Not in Top 5
or Zonal Final;
Lost in First Round
Group Stage		 41 28 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929,
1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939,
1948, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1963,
1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971		 2 1975, 1978 11 POW (9): 1981, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2012, 2015
POL (1): 2000
GS (1): 2019
Not in World Group
or Davis Cup Finals		 11
—
—
 11 POW (1): 2011
POL (6): 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010
DNQ (4): 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008

Winning teams

1976

  • Adriano Panatta
  • Corrado Barazzutti
  • Paolo Bertolucci
  • Tonino Zugarelli
  • Cap. Nicola Pietrangeli

2023

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