They had never seen him so serene. He went to follow Anna’s training, joked with his Russian girlfriend and her coach, Patricia Tarabini, they walked together along the paths of the All England Club with the naturalness that Jannik had never shown in the exhibition of personal facts; and an intimate relationship he is par excellence. The young man is coming of age and the precocious talent will use Wimbledon — not just any Wimbledon: the first Slam experienced as the No. 1 favorite, the most special of all the Majors — to shift another gear in his growth path.
There was a time, not so long ago, when if you asked Jannik Sinner about love he would venture into brainless reasonings on life priorities (tennis) and the high risk of social hatred in the event of bad figures on the court. Those were the months of the obscene collective tribunal on the Berrettini-Satta love, a racket that taught the red baron a lot. But now the ranking is consolidated, his seriousness at work an axiom, the Slam with which he broke the ice (Australian Open in January) in the bag.
The next step will be to get there together with Anna Kalinskaya at the sponsor’s event or being seen holding hands at tournaments, their natural habitat. Without too much fuss, which is not part of the house specialities. However, it is clear that a taboo has been unlocked, untying nerve fibers that had been twisted up until then (exactly one year ago Maria Braccini showed up at Wimbledon incognito) and in the champion’s head, as in the memory files, space has been freed up to be able to think about live his age with more joy.
Then there’s tennis, of course. The Sinner from London, fresh from five substantial victories on the grass of Halle, seems like the older brother of the doubtful Sinner on the eve of Paris, when he landed at Roland Garros to test his injured hip, before a down scoreboard (compensated from the climb of this Londoner) would throw him against it Carlos Alcarazthe nemesis that awaits him in the semi-final also at Church Road.
The dives on the German grass, which were not reckless (“If I hadn’t known I could trust my body, I wouldn’t have jumped”), are the best manifesto of the Jannik’s overflowing form at the dawn of the most important tournament of the season, the Holy Grail of tennis, the one that — if you win it — changes your life forever.
The Italian king was clear: «Physically I feel very good. I have no doubts about my body. I’m just happy to be here, ready for the first round.” He gets there, today third match on court number one while the reigning champion Alcaraz inaugurates the central court, having won a training set with a Novak Djokovic who seems to have recovered after the meniscus operation. Yesterday a bit of rain spoiled Sunday, so Jannik opted for a light dribble and the rest of the day at home, in the house in Wimbledon where, awaiting the arrival of dad hanpeterkitchen operations are entrusted to Vagnozzi (coach) and Ferrara (athletic trainer).
He will sit at the barbecue at the tournament’s junctions: he likes it, it relaxes him. First there is Yannick Hanfmann, born in Karlsruhe with a serious hearing impairment in both ears: «I dreamed of being a footballer, but I couldn’t hear my teammates or the coach. In tennis everything is different, what counts is the view.” On the other side of the net, Mister Sinner.
