We can achieve 4 finals on the same fields that will award the Olympic gold medals. This Slam takes us back to the eve of the 2021 Games, when in London Berrettini and Mancini’s Italy anticipated the gold medals of Jacobs and Tamberi
Journalist
June 7 – 7.35am – MILAN
There has already been a lot of talk about Paris 2024, about the Olympics which will return after three years, from the magical Tokyo 2021. But since yesterday, Paris 2024 for us Italians is also Roland Garros tennis with the finals reached by Jasmine Paolini in the women’s singles and by Simone Bolelli-Andrea Vavassori in the men’s doubles. Waiting today for the semi-finals of Jannik Sinner against Carlos Alcaraz and Sara Errani and Paolini in doubles. From the (red) earth to the moon: we “risk” hitting four finals on the same fields that, between the end of July and the beginning of August, will award the Olympic gold medals. We seem to have returned to that climate of pre-Olympic euphoria of 2021 which began a little later, on 11 July, with Berrettini’s Wimbledon final and the triumph of Mancini’s Italy at Wembley against England. From London to Tokyo it was a blue summer, culminating with the embrace on the track of Jacobs and Tamberi, gold in the 100m and in the high jump just a few minutes apart. Now Paris is at the center of our hopes, the city of Pantani’s triumphs at the 1998 Tour and of the 1938 World Cup of Pozzo’s Azzurri, Varenne’s Amérique and Ribot’s Arc.
Our Olympics starts early from the red clay courts which also made the history of our tennis with the victories of Nicola Pietrangeli (1959 and 1960), Adriano Panatta (1976) and Francesca Schiavone (2010) in singles, by Pietrangeli-Sirola (1959) and Errani-Vinci (2012) in doubles where Mara Santangelo also triumphed in 2007 paired with the Australian Alicia Molik. In the meantime, let’s enjoy Jasmine’s feat as she takes us with more serenity to the match between Jannik and Carlos, the guys worth 100 million euros per season (two of them, between prizes and sponsors) destined to become the masters of tennis. It is beautiful, engaging and exciting to be able to cheer for an Italian in tennis at the highest levels again after years of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. And Sinner is not alone. Because Paolini made the motto that dominates the Philippe Chatrier stadium “victory belongs to the most tenacious” and took a swing at the still shy talent of 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva against whom she had lost a month ago in Madrid. She couldn’t finish the race here for an athlete who knows how to dream of “the most important thing in life”. Without fear she will face Polish Iga Swiatek tomorrow, a solid world number 1 who has already won the Roland Garros tournament three times. The Italian will do so as the new number 7, as an outsider yes but not as a predestined victim. She, Jannik, Sara, Simone and Andrea anticipate Paris 2024.
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ITALY IS A TEAM
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And the protagonists of this Parisian fairytale themselves tell us that they speak as a team, as is usually done only in Davis or in the Billie Jean King Cup. “Inspired by Jannik, winning helps everyone” declared Jasmine on the eve of the semi-final. And so it was. From one field to another you can hear the Italians celebrating, hugging each other and waiting for the next day because there is always a blue man and woman to cheer for. Those years seem far away when reaching the second week of a Slam, among men, was the maximum achievement. And we consoled ourselves with the victories among the juniors of Nargiso, Gaudenzi, Quinzi and Musetti. Then came Sinner who in 2018 at the age of 16 appeared among the pros with his first point in the ATP ranking: he was 1592nd. From there he began his climb and, from Monday, he will officially be number 1. He got there with a series of feats that brought Italy back to the top: after 47 years we won the Davis Cup again and after 48 a Slam. This Roland Garros is already in history because in the last three days of the tournament we are still present in the four most important draws. Let’s play it. With Jasmine’s courage and Jannik’s strength nothing is impossible.
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