The Netherlands are through to their first Davis Cup final after a thrilling win against Germany in Malaga and now their captain will be hoping his words of warning about Jannik Sinner are not about to come back to haunt him.

Botic van de Zandschulp finally found a way to be Daniel Altmaier in a dramatic opening rubber that saw him finally seal victory on his tenth match point.

Then Tallon Griekspoor came from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff in the second in a high-quality second rubber that could set up a re-match with Italy on Sunday.

“I didn’t know what to do any more on those match points,” Van de Zandschulp told the ATP website.

“I had the toughest match of my life on Tuesday, so everything that comes next is a little bit easier.”

Griekspoor’s victory against Struff was just as thrilling, as he sealed a 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4 win to secure a piece of Dutch sporting history.

“We have been talking about this moment for two or three years,” Griekspoor said. “We came here all the time with unbelievably tough draws, but we believed in ourselves so much.

“We always felt like this was possible. To do it now feels unbelievable. I am so happy for the team, and for Holland.”

Italy beat the Netherlands in their opening match in last year’s Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, in what was the first piece of their Davis Cup winning jigsaw last November, with Tennis365 getting a chance to speak to Dutch captain Paul Haarhuis earlier this year about that tie.

The straight-talking former player was brutally honest in his interview with this website, as he admitted Sinner’s presence in the Italy team took his side’s hopes of success away.

Speaking exclusively to Tennis365 as he prepared to host coaching clinics at the Verdura Resort in Sicily, six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Haarhuis admitted the presence of Sinner in Malaga last November was a hammer blow to his Netherlands team as they lost in the quarter-finals against Italy.

“We played Italy in the Davis Cup Finals last year and the minute I saw Sinner landing in Malaga, I knew this was not good for us,” recalled Haarhuis, speaking exclusively to Tennis365.

“When you play a long season and you have a big run at the ATP Finals, you think as a captain of the opposition team, maybe he won’t turn up. Just stay at home man! Get ready for next year.

“To get to the quarter-finals was great for us because we are not a powerhouse tennis nation and the plan was to win one of the singles matches and then try to win the doubles.

“The trouble was, Sinner was just so on fire. He brought Lorenzo Sonego to such a level in the doubles that they were hard to beat.

“We knew that Sonego would be under pressure. If Italy lost, no one would blame Sinner and it would all be down to Sonego, but he just played at an unbelievable level and stayed at that level as he was trying to keep up with Sinner. It was an amazing performance from both of them.”

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Haarhuis went on to suggest Sinner’s temperament is as impressive as his talents, after a year when he proved himself to be the best player in men’s tennis.

“For an Italian, Sinner has that coolness and does not look like he is in a theatre playing a role,” added Haarhuis.

“You look at other Italian players like Fabio Fognini and he was always quite dramatic. This was great because you could get the popcorn and settle in for the show.

“We have also seen that with other Italian players down the years. They tend to be quite excitable on court traditionally, but Sinner is different.

“What Sinner has got is a more German persona. He just shows up, goes about his business and he has it all.

“His athleticism, his shot-making and everything about his game is so wonderful to watch.

“I love how humble he is, how nice he is to everybody, how he says hello to everyone and makes them feel comfortable. He is just amazing for our sport.”

Sinner could be the big obstacle blocking the Netherlands from winning their first Davis Cup Final on Sunday, but first Italy need to get past Italy in Saturday’s semi-finals.

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