Seeing our tennis players in elegant black suits, complete with ties – lengthened by 18 cm due to their height – is quite rare. Seeing Jannik Sinner excited and focused on what he has to say, going over the speech but then speaking off the cuff, is not every day. The occasion is the meeting of the Italian team that won the Davis Cup in Malaga at the Quirinale. The hall of mirrors is teeming with athletes and guests like never before. The protocol is respected. At 3.50pm the two cuirassiers enter, then at 4pm the president, who instead indulges in an affectionate greeting to all the Azzurri present. In addition to Sinner, there are the winners of the Salad bowl called to Malaga by captain Filippo Volandri: Lorenzo Sonego, Matteo Arnaldi, Simone Bolelli, Lorenzo Musetti and Andrea Vavassori. But there is also Matteo Berrettini, in the front row, together with the blue team.
The players are accompanied by the president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation Angelo Binaghi, by the two vice-presidents Gianni Milan and Raimondo Ricci Bitti, by the Fitp councilors. Present were the Minister of Sport Andrea Abodi, the president of CONI Giovanni Malagó and the ambassador of Italian tennis in the world, Nicola Pietrangeli.
Jannik takes the floor. He concentrates, looks President Mattarella straight in the eyes, smiles and takes a breath, then lets go. “We are all normal kids, and this is a beautiful and important thing for the whole nation. We played excellent tennis but the important thing is not just to win, it is to feel free on the court,” he says, showing all his simplicity and genuineness. “The important thing is to be happy to smile even when things aren’t going very well. This cup – adds the Italian number one – has given us a lot of emotions”. “Now there are the Olympics, they are very important, everyone will try to give their best”.
At the end of the speech Sinner presented a tennis racket to the Head of State. Then it’s time for Mattarella’s speech. After the Italian triumph in the Davis Cup “tennis did not stop, at the first important match in Australia the enthusiasm was renewed in a particularly intense way”, said Mattarella. “Even though I was busy – he said – I was able to watch the final, but only from the beginning of the fourth set: this helped my good mood, I didn’t see the first sets but I was immediately reassured that she would win”.
“I wouldn’t want to exaggerate with the words – continued Mattarella – I appreciate the simplicity with which he expresses himself. Everyone will expect her to win everywhere, of course she will play at her best but it’s right not to put any pressure on her. What’s important is the commitment you put into it, with loyalty, sporting sense, sacrifices before each match, this is what counts.”
“Congratulations also to Bolelli and Vavassori for reaching the doubles final. Of course, closing the tie break 7-5 in the last set means not having lost but having expressed the maximum level”, concluded the President of the Republic.
The institutional commitments, both for Sinner and for the blue team, are now over. He returns to the field, in shorts and a t-shirt.
Photo Sposito/Fitp
2024-02-02 07:10:11
#Davis #Azzurri #Mattarella #normal #guys
