Vivere Senigallia continues the meetings with the protagonists of the sporting world. On this occasion we met Emiliano Guzzo, President of FITP (Italian Tennis and Padel Federation) Marche for sixteen years. We had an interesting chat about tennis from the Marche region and on this occasion he told us some personal anecdotes.
First of all, when and how did your passion for tennis begin?
It was born by chance. I played tennis as a hobby, since my main sport was basketball, we rented a private court at the age of 11-12 and they gave away a pizza for whoever won the match. Then from there I joined the Porto San Giorgio tennis club as an auditor, and then managed the youth sector of this tennis club, which for 15 years was the best club in the Marches and perhaps the best club in Italy for results. obtained at youth level. I later joined the Regional Committee, first to lend a hand to Stefano Carlorosi, who was then a councilor in charge of the youth technical sector and then as vice president for two years under Michele Brunetti, during the period of commissionership, and then sixteen years as President.
If you had to tell me about a particular episode in your professional career, which one would you tell me?
Maybe when I was at the Italian Internationals with the lawyer Michele Brunetti, who told me ”look, the President of FIT (now FITP, Editor’s note) wants to talk to you”, we were under commissionership for two years with the extraordinary commissioner, we went to the Canottieri in Rome, where at the time important players were training and at that moment there was a doubles match between the President and another player, a Luxembourger I think and Pietrangeli with a Monegasque player from the WTA circuit who I don’t remember. There the lawyer introduced me to the current President of the Federation and told him ”this boy would like to take on the responsibility of becoming the new President of the Regional Committee” and he with his Sardinian cadence told me ”do you feel like taking on this responsibility behind you?” and in a naive and perhaps brazen way I told him ”with the lawyer Brunetti behind me, certainly yes” and from there my journey as President of the Regional Committee began.
Not only do you know Luca Nardi very well, but you have also seen him grow (like other male and female tennis players from the brands), what did you feel about Nardi’s victory last March against Djokovic? In your opinion, has this victory brought prestige not only to the player, but also to our region in some way?
Luca Nardi has always been a passion of mine. For 16 years I acted as a tutor, trainer, technician, coach and sports manager to all the kids of the brands, as we created a system to make them train as best as possible and achieve results. This system with Luca Nardi, together with Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Stefano Travaglia has borne fruit. The satisfaction was double because this system we had created of activities, gatherings and incentives bore fruit. And then Luca has always been an obsession of mine, I have always said that he played and plays like Roger Federer and therefore, despite the few results in recent years, I have always carried him in the palm of my hand towards everyone, I have always said that in my opinion, together with Sinner, they were the best talents in Italian tennis. This certainly also brought, not only the victory over Djokovic and a lot of attention towards him, but also to the region, together with Elisabetta who no later than six months ago reached the 29th position in the world.
But we know well that tennis from the Marche region is not just Nardi and Cocciaretto (as well as others who have brought prestige to tennis in the region in the past), there are other players who are emerging: how do you think the future of tennis in the region our region?
Yes, as you rightly say, it’s not just Elisabetta and Luca who bring prestige to Marche tennis, it was also Stefano Travaglia who reached 60th position in the world, and was called up to the Davis Cup. But above all the future is bright, because behind them we have a 2003 and a 2002, like Jennifer Ruggeri and Sofia Rocchetti, the first is 435th in the world, the second is 427th, and they have just now received the wild cards for the qualifiers of the Internationals of Italy. We have Tommaso Compagnucci, from ’99, who is 458th in the world, Stefano Travaglia himself is currently 196th in the world. And then we have a large number of under 16s and under 18s, who in the under 18s are among the best in the world rankings for both men and women and who are continuing to win the Italian championships like Ilary Pistola, Italian under 16 champion and Arianna Ovarelli, winner of the under 13 national championships. We can say that the future is certainly bright! In the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 I would also like to remember Peter Buldorini, who today occupies the 835th position in the world, he is a 2004. Let’s say that the future for the young people from the Marche region is absolutely rosy.
The San Benedetto coach Simone Vagnozzi, supported by Darren Cahill, is doing an incredible job with Jannik Sinner, what can you tell us about him? And how satisfying is it to see him at the top of world tennis?
Simone is a guy I know very well. His first ”important” assignment came when he had hired Gianluca Quinzi, Gianluigi’s brother, to coach as soon as his career as a professional player ended. Among other things, that year in the Winter Cup Gianluca Quinzi lost 7-5 in the third set against Jannik Sinner, when they faced Trentino Alto Adige, so he did a great job there too. He’s a boy who at the beginning of his playing career had a little difficulty trying to establish himself in this world of training, then after this year with Gianluca, he got the call from Massimo Sartori, his former coach, to train Marco Cecchinato and from there it started with this first and great result of Cecchinato in Hungary, in Budapest, when as a lucky loser he won the tournament and managed to take him to number 16 in the world. Then he took Stefano Travaglia and brought him to his best ranking which is number 60 in the world. And finally the call from Sinner, and he took on this huge responsibility. What I can say about Simone is that he is a boy, regardless of the technical point of view whose skills are undeniable and objective, very good, a very capable person, with an amazing humility, he is a great worker, he is a very, very intelligent, he was as a player and he also confirmed it as a coach and this ”know-how” knowledge in his experience as a player and in his important experience as a coach he made available to Sinner, naturally together with Cahill they formed an exceptional team and achieved a phenomenal result, which many probably didn’t expect, considering that Sinner started as number 10 in the world. To date, however, if last year he was elected number 1 coach in the world, I think he is well deserved, both as a coach and above all as a person, which is perhaps even more so, because he truly has morality and exceptional ethics.
You told us before that basketball was your main sport: in your opinion, considering all aspects, can tennis and basketball have some components in common?
I am a huge basketball fan, I still am, I played basketball until 5 years ago when I tore my cruciates. The element to share with tennis? I copied both the tennis club and the Marche region, the organizational structure of the youth sector, so from basketball I took away the fact that it is essential to specialize for each age category and that specific activities must be carried out for each age category. . So I took the organization of the youth sectors, the specialization, from basketball and brought it back to tennis, when there was still a teacher who did everything, we were one of the first clubs that specialized under 10 activities and competitive activity.
It is said that tennis from a psychological point of view is one of the most difficult sports. In your opinion, among all that it can ”give”, how suitable do you think it is as a sport for the personal growth of a young person? And why would you recommend the practice?
The psychological aspect in tennis is fundamental. Let’s compare tennis which is an individual sport to the metaphor of life, ”those who face and manage to face important events in tennis will also do well in life”; this is true in all sports, but the psychological element in tennis is perhaps still predominant because it is an individual sport a bit like a game of chess, therefore it is absolutely fundamental for the growth of a boy, both for all also the training activities they do from an early age, even at an international level.
Your plans for the future?
They proposed that I run for the National Council. Probably in September if nothing changes I will apply and try this last stage of the tennis manager, as I spent sixteen years as President of the Regional Committee, two as Vice President, I spent four in the European Federation, I was in charge of training and development of European tennis and what is to come I think is the last stage of my journey as a tennis manager.
