It was only a matter of time. That throne that belonged to Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic today belongs to him. His, by Jannik Sinner. The red one who finally knows how to assert himself also on red clay, despite a hip preventing him from being competitive in the spring and from participating in the Rome Internationals. And who knows if Jannik was any number 21 (so to speak…) in the ranking how much dust would have been raised in our house. And instead the only dust that rises is the ocher colored one from Roland Garros in Paris, almost as if it wanted to cloak the new number one in world tennis as an investiture. The first Italian, provided that the solo-deniers do not consider San Candido (in the province of Bolzano) too far from Rome to be considered in our area. Yes, because there are still those who maintain that Sinner has little Italian, as if in a country of almost 60 million inhabitants there are those “a little more…” and those “a little less…” . And instead it would be enough to enjoy the character of the moment, well beyond the technique, the raised salad bowls (a Davis at the moment, then who knows…) or the records in the ranking. Because what makes Jannik special is his way of being.
Never over the top, smiling just the right amount (never bordering on irreverence), calm even in hot moments. Otherwise, after the sensational refereeing error that cost him the Monte Carlo trophy, he would have put on a show. Nothing. He must have been very disappointed, of course, but he took it in, shook hands with the referee and his opponent, and took advantage of this experience. And there are other examples. Like when a ball boy, during Roland Garros, lost his bearings and timing by walking across the court just as Sinner was about to close the point in a crucial moment of the match against home favorite Gasquet. Nothing. There too he continued straight ahead, without shouting or showing anger in front of the camera. The mistake is part of the game, there is no alibi Jannik. The best gift that sport could give to Italy. And to the whole world.