Paolo Bertolucci: “Jannik Sinner is dragging the whole Italian tennis.”
Paolo Bertolucci analyzes the moment of Italian tennis
Italian tennis is not è only Jannik Sinner: the Italian racket world is experiencing a real golden moment, which perhaps there’s never been, since in the past when men won, women struggled and vice versa. Now, however, alongside Jannik’s triumphs from last October onward, including those in Davis Cup and the Australian Open, Simone Boleli and Andrea Vavassori’s doubles victories, and Luciano Darderi’s ascent, the women are also making a big splash.
The victory in Dubai and Jasmine Paolini’s climb
In particular Jasmine Paolini has just won her first WTA 1000 in Dubai climbing to world number 14, and it should not be forgotten that in Billie Jean King Cup the girls led by Tathiana Garbin reached the final after ten years, surrendering only to Canada. Paolo Bertolucci, unforgettable protagonist of the Davis triumph in Santiago in 1976 and now technical commentator on Sky, analyzes the golden moment of our tennis in Gazzetta dello Sport.
Bertolucci: “Jannik effect on our tennis”
“There are many factors in this historic moment for the Azzurri, but there is no doubt that the most important boost came from Sinner’s triumphs, from the Atp Finals onward,” Bertolucci writes. Let’s call it the Jannik effect, an upward drag on the whole movement that was undoubtedly foreseeable: when you have an example and a winning model in front of you, the spirit of emulation works as a stimulus for everyone, and the attempt to achieve, or at least try to achieve, the results of the great champion represents a spring for all other players”.
Bertolucci: “Sinner will è build himself day by day”
“In Sinner’s case, then, it’s not just a matter of approaching the prowess of an outlier: in fact, the Pustertal boy’s meteoric rise combines undoubted talent with the ethic of work, sacrifice and planning: Jannik è the striking proof that application in training, consistency in pursuing one’s goals even through delicate choices, constant focus on the details that help one improve have the same importance as the natural qualities provided by the genetic inheritance. Sinner has not been in a hurry even in the face of some unexpected backhand, he has built day by day the foundation on which he has now based his greatness as a top player who wins Slams”.
Bertolucci: “Paolini è exploded only at 28? It doesn’t matter”
“A great competitive message that exalts daily application and that, in its own small way, è has also been embraced by Paolini. Jasmine has followed her path under the guidance of an excellent coach like Furlan without letting herself get caught up in performance anxiety and now she can reap the benefits, and it matters little that she has just turned 28: everyone matures in their own time and today’s tennis, or rather I would say all sports activity in general, allows one to remain at the top even at ages that until a couple of decades ago marked the border with retirement”.
Bertolucci: “All our tennis can’grow in the’shadow of Sinner”
“Facing one’s path without tensions and with the awareness of one’s convictions è therefore, the first step in trying to turn dreams into reality, and this è is the’other, positive, side of the medal of Jannik’s triumphs: his results are the ideal umbrella under which the whole movement can’think about growing without the’nagging of victories at all costs. For decades, in Italy, as a talent appeared, the pressures that accompanied him in a country with a huge hunger for level tennis players who could at least replicate the glories of the 1976 Davis generation ended up overwhelming him. Now all the’attention è fixed on Sinner, who è was able to go beyond that phase by achieving historic successes, and behind him young and old can thus focus solely on what’s best for them without the’nagging of winning at any cost”.
