On the cement of the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno, Jannik Sinner – world number one, the only Italian to have won two Slams in the same season, the Australian Open and the US Open – will not be there, nor will Lorenzo Musetti, historic bronze at the Paris Olympics, but Bologna will make the national tennis team, holder of the prestigious “Insalatiera”, feel all its warmth: in the Bolognese basin the Azzurri are heading towards a sell-out for the Italians engaged in the Davis Cup group stage against Brazil, Belgium and Netherlands.
The Italian Tennis and Padel Federation guarantees that tickets for the matches scheduled for tomorrow against the ‘cariocà team, Friday against Belgium and Sunday against the ‘Oranjè, when Sinner’s presence in the stands of the Emilian facility is certain, have sold out like hot cakes: returning to Italy, after his triumph at Flushing Meadows, the Alto Adige champion will be in the stands to support his teammates determined to snatch the ‘pass’ for the Davis finals to be held in Malaga. Driven by a building seething with passion: tickets sold for the six days of play are over 13,000, up 5% compared to 2023. In particular, the demand concerns the matches that will involve Italy, while there is still availability for the other matches. Each match involves two singles and one doubles, all best of two sets out of three. In Davis, explained yesterday the captain of Italy, Filippo Volandri, after the historic victory of 2023 the idea is to “open a cycle made up of a team composed of many players, regardless of those who will actually be present”.
Matteo Berrettini, Matteo Arnaldi, Flavio Cobolli, Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli have been called up for the challenges in Emilia who will show off their class against the Brazilians, Belgians and Dutch in the wake of the ‘Tennis-mania’ that is involving an entire country. The Davis Cup – following an agreement signed in 2022 between the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, the International Tennis Federation, the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Municipality of Bologna – will remain under the Two Towers until 2026: “The Italian tennis movement is experiencing a golden moment, the best ever – observes the acting regional president, Irene Priolo – We are the reigning champions in the Davis Cup and today the strongest player in the world is an Italian. I had no doubts that the response from Bologna and Emilia-Romagna would be numerous and warm”.