Tennis, Wimbledon: Sinner leader of the blue hopes. Unknown Berrettini
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Restart from Wimbledon the pursuit of the Azzurri to success in a men’s Slam that is now lost in the mists of time, or rather from the victory of Adriano Panatta at Roland Garros in 1976. Right on the London grass Italy came closest to breaking the long taboo in 2021 when Matthew Berrettini he surrendered in the final in 4 sets to Novak Djokovic. For technical characteristics, Berrettini is the one who, on paper, would have the most probability, also considering his other results on grass: 2 victories at Queen’s (2021 and 2022) and 2 in Stuttgart (2019 and 2022). The problem of the Roman, slipped to n. 37 Atp (worst ranking of the last 4 years, ed), is that he arrives at the appointment in precarious conditions. Once again luck seems to have turned its back on him. A year ago, when he was in great shape, returning from 9 victories in a row, he was stopped by Covid right on the eve of the tournament. This time it is the discomfort in the abs that casts doubt not so much on its presence as on its competitiveness.
Berrettini, a great desire to be there but it is almost impossible to be competitive
Forced to retire before the match with Rune in Montecarlo for having suffered a second-degree muscle tear to the internal oblique muscle of the abdominal fascia on 12 April, during the victorious match with Cerundolo, Berrettini returned after exactly two months, on 12 June, remedying a humiliating lesson (6-1, 6-2) from his friend Sonego in Stuttgart. “I thought I was fit but I’m not ready yet”, he declared the day after the knockout. In reality, however, the injury did not allow him to take the field even at Queen’s to defend the title. Thinking that at Wimbledon he can magically find the right sensations in a tournament that inevitably requires an extraordinary physical effort to get to the end, is practically impossible.
Sinner swears: “I’m ready”
Our leading man, as has already been the case for a year, is Jannick Sinner, n. 8 in the world, which last year, almost surprisingly, went as far as fourth, after even beating the current no. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who took his revenge two months later by eliminating him in the quarterfinals at the US Open after disallowing a match-point. Grass has never been the favorite surface for the South Tyrolean who has played little on it (just 14 games in his career) snatching 50% of victories, a lower average than all other surfaces (75% indoors, 69% on concrete and 65% on earth). Sinner, still chasing his first semifinal in a Grand Slam, tried to prepare Wimbledon better this year by going first to ‘s-Hertogenbosch and then to Halle but just when he was trying to find the right rhythm he too had to surrender to a small contracture in his left thigh that forced him to abandon the match with Bublik in the quarterfinals while trailing 7-5, 2-0. “It’s never easy to leave a match, but I had to do what was best for my body,” he wrote on social media. “After a few days of rest, and after consulting my doctor, I’m happy to report that I’m ready to play Wimbledon.” For what little has been seen in the 5 matches in which he has been on the pitch, Sinner has shown that he is not yet fully at ease: difficulty in responding and in continuously taking the initiative. We’ll see if the air and grass of the All England Club will be able to give him the right inspiration.
