Jannik Sinner number 1? Mats Wilander’s disfigurement: “It’s just a matter of computers”

From Monday, Jannik Sinner he is number one in the world and in the meantime, on Tuesday, he was honored by his Sesto by signing the municipal Golden Book, thus becoming an honorary citizen. The Italian tennis player has overtaken Novak Djokovic in the ranking, despite his knockout in the semi-final with Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros, which was later won by the Spaniard who became number two in the world. The second, 22 years old, already with three Slams, the first one and two years older. Many today wonder which of the two of them is currently the best, both destined to share a rosy future in tennis. For Mats Wilanderthe former Swedish champion, Sinner in first place is a mere “computer issue”, while only Alcaraz exists.

Wilander himself said this in an interview with the French de The Team: “With the end of the big-3, this guy (Alcaraz, ed.) is a godsend for our sport — his words — It can make tennis even more popular. But more Grand Slam successes will be needed. It will be enough for him one title per year to fill this role.” Then the broadside to Sinner: “Being number 1 is just a question of computers – his words – People will always prefer live tennis to a machine”. Carlitos in particular is Wilander’s favorite because he “has many different ways to score. He doesn’t systematically make the best choice but the arsenal is there, available – the Swede’s thoughts – Suddenly the opponent no longer knows which foot to dance on. Cherry on the cake? He smiles on the pitch! He is a perfect ambassador for tennis.”

Listen to Wilander’s words, Adriano Panatta was not there and defended Sinner during the podcast ‘The phone call’ with his friend Paolo Bertolucci, who does not hide his satisfaction with Jannik’s long-awaited achievement of first position: “It was like childbirth — the words of the former Roland Garros 1976 world champion — We are not happy, more than that: a crazy blow for tennis and for Italian sport. There were very few of us on that bandwagon until a couple of years ago they all threw themselves into it”. There is also space for a sharp joke: “I see that politicians also make statements. Who knows who will have voted for at the Sinner Europeans. Will be certainly pro-Europeanis a citizen of the world.”

During the podcast, there was also space for some irreverent considerations on the look of the protagonists: “Do we want to talk about Tsitsipas? When we played, we were more elegant – Panatta said again – The Greek sit looked like the Mayan Bee, Alcaraz instead with yellow trousers and an anonymous and hideous gray t-shirt, without considering the shoes that now look like Harlequin”. Sinner isn’t flawless either, from this point of view: “With this rust-colored shirt he’s not very elegant – concluded the Roman tennis player – While Dimitrov seemed someone who rides a skateboard. I understand the contractual obligations, but they are obviously inelegant.”