There is no Sinner but that doesn’t mean Italy can’t hope for an Italian exploit over the course of the season Italian internationals which officially kicked off today with the main draw of the women’s tournament. And if Jannik isn’t there, he tries Matteo Arnaldi to advance his candidacy for a place in the sun.
Arnaldi: “Winning here? Of course it’s possible.”
Matteo Arnaldi does not hide and faces the microphones as he faces his opponents with courage and a pinch of bravado: “It is certainly a tournament that all Italians want to win. I haven’t won a title yet and winning this would be something special. It’s possible? Anything is possible, from the first training session there were more than numerous fans and I’m sure they will give me a lot of energy on the pitch and help me overcome the difficult moments”.
A positive season for the Italian, fresh from elimination in Madrid in the round of 32 against Medvedev: “I’m playing well, there are many things I need to improve on. The last match with Medvedev was good but there were many moments where I could have managed better. I’m happy with the fact that I’m raising my level week after week, I like working and I believe that work pays. There are moments when I can struggle more, in Barcelona and Madrid I played well. I aim to be consistent all year round, I want to make it my skill”.
Arnaldi and the similarities with Sinner
Sinner is not at the Foro Italico and will not play in the tournament but it is inevitable that we always talk about him: “We have always had the same physique but a very different game. He has always been someone who shot very hard while I rowed from the baseline, we grew up together, we played many tournaments together. Then we followed two different paths. The goal is the same as all the players, I want to try to be number 1 in the world and win the slams. If I didn’t have this goal I wouldn’t even play”.
Machach opponent in the first round
On the way to Matteo Arnaldi there is a difficult comparison, the one with the Czech Machac with the two clashing for the last time in Miami. The precedents are all on the Czech’s side but Arnaldi doesn’t hold back: “With Machac I lost twice and here the conditions are different. In the other two matches we played on very fast pitches, I don’t know which pitch I will play on but the conditions are much slower. I don’t think I have to change much about my game but I’m sure I have to play. Goals for the season? I don’t like saying them publicly. I don’t have any ranking goals but I would like to be seeded. In Barcelona I was out by 1 and here I was still out by two. It’s still far away and then I want to win the first ATP title“.
The backstory on Davis
Yesterday FITP wanted to celebrate once again the Italian national team who won the Davis Cup in Malaga. Matteo Arnaldi contributed with the success in the final against Popyrin and after some time he reveals a background on that period: “Davis was a bit of a strange time. I arrived having not played for three weeks, the last match was in Vienna. There were almost 20 days in which I didn’t touch the racket at all because I was in Los Angeles visiting my girlfriend’s family (whose father passed away a few days before the Davis finals, ed.), so I practically didn’t train. I arrived with few expectations, I didn’t even think about playing. The match with Popyrin? It’s a strange match for me, at that moment I was trying to smile again and enjoy playing”.
