Two young Azzurri make Italy dream

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mama mia A look at the history books of men’s tennis makes every Italian fan’s hair stand on end. A representative of Italy who managed to win a Grand Slam tournament has not been found for decades. The last? Was Adriano Panatta in Paris in 1976. The last winner of Italy’s biggest tournament, the Masters in Rome? Goes back to the same year, to the same gentleman.

That’s 47 long years that the proud sporting country is waiting for redemption. Very talented players like Fabio Fognini (35) or Matteo Berrettini (27), Wimbledon finalist in 2021, have not been able to quench the country’s thirst so far. Will that change soon? We shall see. Italy has at least two up-and-coming talents on the ATP tour in Jannik Sinner (21) and Lorenzo Musetti (21), who are already shaking up the scene.

While Fognini and Berrettini are in deep trouble, the South Tyrolean Sinner, currently number eight in the world, has already won seven tournaments at his age. Most recently, the redhead was in the final in Miami, where he only failed because of the Russian Daniil Medvedev (27). Connoisseurs see him as the future great rival of shooting star Carlos Alcaraz (20), against whom Sinner has already played six sometimes very spectacular duels, of which the Italian won three.

“Sinner Has What It Takes To Be Number One”

Musetti, who is ranked 18th in the world, caused a sensation last year with the titles in Hamburg and Naples and was last in the semi-finals in Barcelona. His exploits have led newspapers such as the “Gazzetta dello Sport” to now even cheer about an “Italian rivalry”, especially since the two talents repeatedly face each other in important matches. Recently, Sinner was unable to compete in a duel in Barcelona, ​​​​but before that he won the first two matches in Monte Carlo and Antwerp.

Italian hopes are high that one of the two Azzurri will start a race in Rome this week. Sinner and Musetti, who get along well, are clearly aiming for an international breakthrough in 2023. An exploit on home soil could give that extra boost. Also regarding the French Open at the end of the month.

Musetti is so sure of Sinner: “He’s got what it takes to be number one.” If he succeeds, he would give his homeland another salvation: no Italian has ever sat on the ATP throne.

Source : Blick