“He always hides one thing from his opponents”

Few people know tennis and its nuances like this Eating Angel. The journalist, commentator and well-known face of Sky Sport who today celebrates a day dedicated to the Sky Sport Tennis channel, has a past as a player (he entered the top 700 in the world), Federal Master and International Coach. A wealth of experience that allows him to always be on point, even today in the story of the companies of Jannik Sinner and other Italian tennis players.

Speaking to Fanpage.it, Mangiante spoke about the number two in the world rankings and his peculiarities on the court (“He always hides his insecurities from his opponents and this is an advantage) but also off it. A tennis player who is unique precisely because it is normal and for this reason it is truly loved by everyone, from the young to the old, an opportunity to have their say on Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and the current moment in tennis.

Angelo, you got to know Sinner even away from the fields and the cameras. Is he really that special?
“I personally like Sinner even more off the pitch because he is a humble Sinner, with a strong work culture, who dedicates himself entirely to training. An example of application, concentration and sacrifice. We can see Sinner winning on the pitch everyone, but there are many who do it. However, he also represents a model off the pitch.”

What did you think the first time you saw Jannik play? What is the quality that immediately struck you?
“The concentration, the confidence and the tranquility he had on the pitch. It was different, I had seen him play for the first time at the Foro Italico against Musetti and he was a player who, being only 17 years old, did not show emotions. And this has always been an advantage, because he doesn’t show insecurities to the opponent. I liked his mental ability, he already seemed like a made player. You could see that Riccardo Piatti had done a wonderful job, because he was coached by him then of play and remarkable ball speed, despite having little muscle.”

Was there an episode related to Sinner that made you think he was different from other players?
“Staying in the present, for example, I was struck by the way in which he managed to overturn the match in Miami against Griekspoor, which was interrupted due to rain. There he managed to win the match. I was struck by the way in which he recovered in question, because he was losing the first set and was in difficulty in the second. He asked his coaches to share ideas, at that moment he agreed to be guided tactically by the coach and you could see the face of the one who would find a key. to win. I am struck by his analytical ability: even in moments of great difficulty he always finds a way to overcome problems.”

You are a former player, a coach, a journalist, the father of a budding tennis player: who better than you can explain the Sinner phenomenon, why everyone likes it?
“Because he is the friend we would all like to have, the boy next door who, without wanting to appear as a phenomenon, is appreciated for his values. Unfortunately this is a society that forgets about certain values. When Sinner says ‘pay attention to social media, don’t you abuse it, that’s not real life’, that’s frankly what any father would like to say to his children. But if a dad says it, he’s taken as an elder, Sinner says it, he’s listened to.”

And it is listened to by everyone, because it is transversal.
“He is loved by all generations because he transfers something to young people, to the middle age, and even to the elderly, who see a boy who still has values ​​such as education. He holds the umbrella for the ball girl if it rains, from gentleman of the past takes it because it is right for a man to always take a step back towards a woman. He is a wonderful example and we have a strong feeling that he will never change, because he is like that.”

Is it difficult to talk about tennis today? In a short time it went from being an almost niche sport to the one of the moment.
“For me, talking about tennis is the easiest thing in the world because I spent my life on a tennis court. I started playing when I was 10-12 years old and I never stopped. It’s my world. I got to know the aspect beautiful of tennis to be an elegant and individual sport, in which you have to solve problems on your own. There is no club like in football, in tennis you have to organize everything yourself in the building phase of your career and get by on your own It’s a very beautiful, intriguing and constructive part. It conveys class, education and respect for the opponents, with matches that end with the handshake , even if at a lower level, it feels natural for me to tell it.”

Speaking of traditional tennis, there is a lot of talk about the need to introduce innovations into the game. Do you think there is a need for it?
“Some innovation, if it’s functional, is fine. In Miami, for example, there was music during the changeovers, in my opinion it’s there because it makes everything more fun. In fact it almost becomes an open-air disco, but then maximum respect for the sacredness of the game and total silence. This doesn’t bother me, unlike different solutions on the rules such as shortening the sets, bringing them to 4 and so on. It’s as if in football we decided to move to 60′ matches: no can change the history of a sport radically.”

In terms of players today, are the “non-conformists”, the “bad boys” on the increase?
“If it’s going to be fashionable to say that tennis needs bad boys, for example a Rune who is a bit of a border player, I say no. Tennis doesn’t need bad boys, but players like Sinner, Nadal, Federer, or rather champions of fairness and respect. Let’s hold on to the sacredness of tennis in the most classic way, because this will remain his strength and uniqueness in sport.”

Speaking of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic: do you have any preferences having seen them up close several times?
“By nature I always try to take the best part of the champions, in my opinion he always teaches a lot. I have a confidential relationship and I am closer to Nadal because I had the opportunity to talk to him and get to know him more. I consider him a true champion on and off the court, a humble and extraordinary boy. Values ​​that I also found in Sinner. Of the three I have always had immense respect for Nadal. I like Federer’s class, I like the way he has always positioned himself, the elegance and respect of his opponents. Roger is unrepeatable as a technical phenomenon: no one will ever play as well as he did.”

Djokovic on the other hand is more divisive, but still very great.
“I really like Novak’s ability to have fought hard, with a difficult path as a child. He was someone who trained while waiting for the bombings to end and he experienced real apprenticeship. He succeeded with work and obsessive attention to detail to enter in the wake of the two phenomena Nadal and Federer. The miracle of that trio he started late, given that at the beginning only those two won the Slams. In the end he even surpassed them, crowning an amazing career always conveyed something different from the others, but always great.”

You were lucky enough to see and follow many tennis players, which one impressed you the most and which perhaps didn’t live up to expectations?
“I saw many who I thought would become very strong. For example, one who I liked, followed and hoped would become even stronger was Del Potro. He conveyed emotions, he had a terrifying forehand, very Latin. I was convinced that he could fit into Federer’s monopoly, Nadal and Djokovic. He probably would have made it if he hadn’t had so many injuries. He was penalized by this physical fragility he had.”

Let’s talk about yourself. You always stand out for your calmness, cheerfulness and balance. How much of your tennis training is there in this?
“It is the result of the education that your parents give you, it comes from the environment in which you grow up. My parents have always taught me respect and kindness, fundamental elements for relating to the world. Then as I grew up I realized that I was very lucky, that is, to come from sport and to be able to talk about sport. I have always committed to talking about it seriously, as those who listen deserve. We have a responsibility, that of not having to represent the interests that one may have on one player or another, on one event or another. We must simply be ourselves: if we hold on to our professional honesty there is no need to feel the fear of pitfalls or communication errors. I am what you see and I don’t play any part. and that’s what I like. He doesn’t play any role and he will always be like that. It will always be his strength on and off the pitch. If you can put it to work it helps you a lot.”

Let’s close on a colorful note: what is the most curious episode that happened to you?
“It dates back to when I was playing and I will always remember it. I had lost in the last qualifying round of an ATP tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. I was the first Lucky loser in the event of a forfeit on the scoreboard. We were three Italians, Alessandro De Minicis was there and Massimo Cerro. We slept together, experiencing that month of tournaments in Eastern countries. There was a downpour that postponed the matches and Massimo Cerro, who was on the scoreboard, saw the flooded fields, took his bicycle and went for a ride around the village. In a short time, however, the sun suddenly came out and in three quarters of an hour they dried all the fields for the matches to be played. An unimaginable thing. The referee called Cerro onto the pitch, but Cerro wasn’t there.

I can already imagine how it ended.
“At the time there were no cell phones and we didn’t know how to warn him. Desperate, we looked everywhere for him. The supervisor told us that if he hadn’t come in it would have been the first Lucky Loser who was me, otherwise the second one who was a German. If I hadn’t accepted I would have lost the prize money and the hospitality, so at that point – although very sorry for my friend – I had to make myself available and I hear someone shouting outside the circle: it was Cerro coming back at full speed with his bicycle. Too late though, because I had started. But in that moment I understood the fleeting nature of life.