The Monday Scratch

All crazy for Sinner. And Inter take back the lead in Serie A with Lautaro

What is happening now with the South Tyrolean tennis player is a phenomenon not seen since the days of Alberto Tomba, Marco Pantani, Valentino Rossi, Federica Pellegrini, up to Adriano Panatta, the last Italian tennis player to win a slam in 1976

29 January 2024

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Tennis, quanto vale Jannik Sinner?

5' min read

There is electricity in the air, needless to say. Undoubtedly Inter overtaking Juve at the top, without even having recovered the match with Atalanta, is a highlight in the challenge for the Scudetto. And we will talk about this in a moment, because this exciting duel will be repeated, in a challenge with the flavour of a showdown, next Sunday 4 February at the San Siro. Because if Inter were to win, going to +4, for Juve it would be a nasty blow. Perhaps not decisive, but almost...

What is happening around Sinner, after his extraordinary feat in Australia, is something that transcends the normal sporting news. And you can see it in the contagious passion with which we all talk about him and follow him. A river in flood that overflows everywhere, filling newspapers, radio, news and social media. A phenomenon not seen since the days of Alberto Tomba, Marco Pantani, Valentino Rossi, Federica Pellegrini, up to Adriano Panatta, the last Italian tennis player to win a slam in 1976. All great sports figures who have entered our lives, our homes, giving us emotions, shared by all, that still give us goosebumps today.

The same emotions that Sinner has conveyed to us, this boy from South Tyrol who, after five hard-fought sets against one of the world's strongest tennis players, has the strength to remain calm, to thank his parents 'for the freedom they have given him', to exult with that clenched fist that everyone now imitates as a universal gesture. Quiet, without hallucinated grimaces like footballers, without reproaching anyone, not even Medvedev who, in the not too distant past, in Turin in 2021, had taunted him with a yawn on his face after beating him with a peremptory 6-0.

No controversy, no rancour. 'We've taken a good step forward, but there is still work to be done,' says Sinner simply, while all around everyone is drunk with joy. After having been all footballers and skiers, we are now all tennis players again. 'Super serve', 'change of pace', 'slam', 'grand slam': we know more about it than Paolo Bertolucci. And there is no one who does not remember that five years ago he already said that Jannik would become the strongest of them all. And that now, after Australia, he can also triumph in Paris, at Wimbledon, in the USA. And on Mars and Venus.

And there's his father who is a cook, his mother Siglinde who is a waitress in the Fischleintal valley, his fiancée Maria, his precious brother Mark who is a fireman, the whole magnificent team. And then the mayor of Sesto Pusteria and so on up the political hierarchy. There is already talk of Sinner's participation in the Sanremo Festival, an unavoidable test-bed for a super star, as Alberto Tomba had already done for his two gold medals in Calgary in 1988.

Well: Sinner, having beaten giants like Djokovic and Medvedev, needs no advice, for goodness sake. If there is one thing he should fear for his future, however, it is this typically Italian horse fever that strikes us when one of us, starting from the bottom, reaches a prestigious goal. We go mad, we lose all control.

So, dear Jannik, keep on making us dream, we really need it. But hang in there, don't get overwhelmed by our contagious embrace. You still have a long way to go. Clench your fist, stay humble and focused. And at the umpteenth interview about your favourite dessert, or whether you prefer to ski or play tennis, escape back to Australia to win another slam.

Il trionfo di Sinner a Melbourne
Photogallery24 foto

Inter goes (1-0 in Florence)

It was all right for Inzaghi's team who, against Fiorentina, won with pain but, thanks to Lautaro's usual goal, took those three precious points that allowed them to counter-take over the Bianconeri (54 to 53) before next Sunday's direct clash in Milan. Without Calhanglu and Barella, Inter did not shine, but came out with their heads held high despite strong pressure from the hosts, who also missed a penalty with Nico Gonzales. A draw would have been fairer, but Inter, with its greater quality, overcame another important obstacle in the title race.

Everything at the top: the most prolific attack with Lautaro as the top scorer, the least beaten defence, Inzaghi's team confirms that it deserves to be at the top, also thanks to a wider squad that allows it to do without important starters. For Fiorentina, another false step. Overtaken by Atalanta, they are now fifth with Lazio. A lot of play, but little concreteness. And the Champions League is moving away.

Adelante with judgement: the cautious Allegri

And what are we to say of this Juve side that brakes (1-1) at home with Empoli? Certainly, the surprise is considerable, especially after the positive trail of five victories. True, the expulsion of Milik after a quarter of an hour weighed heavily, but in short, Lecce, with all due respect, are fighting for salvation. Even in the inferiority, Allegri could have come up with something to help Vlahovic, the only one who was more interested in winning than losing. Why so much anticipation for Yildiz? "You can't win all the time, Inter remain favourites," Allegri said just to confuse the sceptics. The truth is that a draw, in this football, is almost a defeat. Fortune favours the bold, says an old Latin proverb. To which Allegri has always preferred the more prosaic: 'Fortune is blind, but misfortune sees very well'.

Milan, the acute evil of penalties

You have to be careful with Pioli's team. As soon as someone starts paying them a few compliments, or whispering that the worst is over, and that they might even be thinking about the Scudetto, here comes trouble. Or incomprehensible oddities such as this penalty sickness Milan suffered on Saturday night at the San Siro in front of the usual 70,000 fans adoring whatever nefarious things their favourites do. This time, against a fine Bologna, with the Dutchman Zirkzee in the shop window, Milan missed two penalties. The first with Giroud who, instead of striking decisively, laid the ball into the goalkeeper's arms. The second, with Teo Hernandez slamming the ball against the post. Now: to waste is lawful, but to persevere is diabolical. And it also leads badly, as Bologna proved by equalising right on a penalty kick in the 92nd minute. What can I say? If two of Milan's best (Giroud and Teo) go for frogs on a Saturday night, it becomes pointless to hazard any analysis of the Diavolo's future. Anything is still possible. Even that Leao returns to scoring. And to amaze. If De Ketelaere, by now always Atalanta's best, has managed it, why not continue to believe in miracles?

Once upon a time Lazio-Napoli

God how sad, this faded (0-0) draw at the Olimpico! The challenge between the two big disappointments, last year's dominators of the championship, ends amid general yawns after a match that to define boring is only an understatement or an excess of politeness. So many absentees on both sides, no chances, unemployed goalkeepers, a cloak of rogue nostalgia certainly not soothed by the paltry point that the draw awarded to both. Meanwhile, Atalanta, victorious over Udinese (2-0), consolidates its fourth place with its eighth success in the last ten matches. Dark times for Sarri and Mazzarri. If they continue like this, the next challenge will be trump on the bench in the public gardens.