Pucci yes, Sinner nein: Mauro Mazza’s triple jump

“Who decides if one deserves to go to Sanremo, if he is funny or if he sucks? With Andrea Pucci it was preemptive censorship, it’s very serious,” was how Mauro Mazza expressed himself at the microphones of La7 in February after the Milanese comedian renounced his participation in the Italian Song Festival. Two months later, the seasoned journalist has decided that Jannik Sinner “Is Italian for a manner of speaking, he is not like us,” he said among other things, self-asserting that he represents some sixty million Italians.

Mazza instead elected Matteo Berrettini as a “real Italian,” “like the one in Toto Cotugno’s song.” As obvious, his thought sparked a great deal of controversy. Yet, when the South Tyrolean wins, all Italian politicians and those of any stripe are quick to jump on the bandwagon of what is now the best tennis player in the world.

Making the controversy even more strident, there is one fact worth mentioning: in these very days Sinner is about to write another page of world tennis history. The world No. 1 is expected at the Madrid Masters 1000, scheduled for April 22 to May 3, where he is aiming to win his fifth consecutive Masters 1000-after Paris-Bercy, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo-a feat no tennis player has ever achieved in the circuit’s history. Absent his main rivals, Carlos Alcaraz (struggling with a wrist problem) and Novak Djokovic (not yet fully fit), Sinner starts as the big favorite and will begin his journey from the second round against a qualifier.

A testament to Sinner’s greatness are not only the numbers, but also the words of those who have seen him grow up close. Dominic Thiem, a former 2020 US Open champion, told some enlightening background in an interview, “I happened to see him in the morning, before the day started, in the gymnasium of the various tournaments, doing very specific exercises. Boring exercises, actually, of very slow stability. Having the ability to work hard is a great talent in itself.” The Austrian added, “Live he is even more impressive: the way he gets on every ball…no matter what pressure situation you put him in, he is always there.” Words that describe a champion built on dedication and daily sacrifice: exactly those values that, it seems, Mauro Mazza struggles to recognize as Italian.