Federica Brignone, her return to the track excited even Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner, after having overcome without difficulty the French Gaston (also forced to retire due to an injury at the end of the second set) in the press conference also spoke about skiing and in particular about the return to the track of Federica Brignone, who was able to close the giant slalom of Plan de Corones in sixth place: “What Federica has done and is doing, beyond the results, is something that very few can do. I really wish her the best at the Olympics, also for all the work she has done in the gym to get back to her best”.

The tennis player then broadened the discourse to the great champions of Italian skiing when there are now less than twenty days to go before the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics: “There are phenomena like her or like Sofia Goggia who, even after experiencing difficult moments before the races, have something more. Federica is definitely one of them”. Inevitable a comparison with her sport: “In tennis there is much less danger. In skiing it also takes a lot of courage to get back to the starting gate and jump again”.

Sinner then compared her own experience with that of skiers: “What she went through is not comparable to what I went through. I have never had an injury that kept me out for so long. Skiing and tennis are completely different sports: in skiing, if something happens during the season, you’re often out for the whole year. In tennis, on the other hand, maybe you stop today and you can come back after two or three months” concluded the South Tyrolean who as a youngster practiced just downhill skiing.

Federica Brignone’s great run should not, however, make us forget the more than decent race of Lara Della Mea, who finished in tenth place confirming the position of the first run and finishing with an overall gap of 1″89. Less well in the second run was Asja Zenere, who went from 12th to 15th place overall.

The other Azzurra qualified for the second run, Alice Pazzaglia, finally finished in 24th position, with a 4″84 gap, confirming the result of the first run. On the other hand, negative day for Ilaria Ghisalberti, Ambra Pomare and Anna Trocker, out of the top thirty after the first run, as well as Sofia Goggia and Giorgia Collomb, both out of the race just in the morning.