Volandri reveals the key to Italy's success in the Davis Cup: "The players understood that I made decisions for the good of the team"
Who can put an end to Italy's hegemony in the Davis Cup? Despite the absence of its two best players, Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, the Squadra Azzurra was once again the best team in the Final 8 in Bologna. Filippo Volandri's team dominated Austria in the quarter-finals, Belgium in the semi-finals, and Spain in the final.
Volandri made strong choices in his team
Captain Volandri, who therefore had to do without Sinner and Musetti, selected Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli for the singles matches, favoring them over other players such as Matteo Arnaldi or Luciano Darderi, the latter having won three ATP titles this season (Marrakech, Bastad, Umag). The former professional player discusses the key to his players' success in recent years.
"I have always wanted to be a courageous captain. The players understood that I made decisions for the good of the team. I have always prioritized the team. After five years, I can allow myself this kind of reasoning. Obviously, some players may have been disappointed, like Luciano Darderi. We allowed ourselves not to select the world number 26 in the team. But he always wrote to me during the week.
We succeeded, as a team, in turning this responsibility into an additional asset. The guys were fantastic. I have always based my work on the relationships between the players. Five years ago, we were not as organized as we are today. We have always tried to put the players in the best possible conditions.
What we do in the technical area is try to help not only the players, but also their coaches and staff. When the guys spend so much time together, as Flavio Cobolli also explained, they feel better too.
These are young players who get along very well, as we saw in the last press conference. This makes my job easier. I like the idea that the players say there is no leader and that everyone helps each other. When you have that kind of mindset, everything becomes much easier. I also struggle to accept certain aspects of my role, such as telling a player that he will not be selected," Volandri stated to Tennis World Italia.
