Things from the other world. Of that world of tennis where Jannik Sinner he is rewriting the rules with an excessive power that in the now drawing to a close year has catapulted him to the top of the world ATP. The Sesto Pusteria alien can only be the symbol of a year of sport that goes into the archives. His impressive climb has been the driving force behind an increasingly protagonist Italian movement. Jannik is the standard bearer of an Italy of Sport that has become queen where for decades it was a sad spectator. The spinning wheel is a phenomenon that takes up the scepter that until a few months ago had belonged to Nole Djokovic, the latest phenomenon of the formidable triad of immortal champions – with Roger Federer And Rafa Nadalof course… – to write the memorable tennis pages of the last twenty years.
Sinner’s 2024 borders on science fiction. June 10th is the date in red: it is the day in which the new tennis god arrived from Sudtirol climbs to the top step of the rankings, displacing Djokovic, forced – due to a knee injury during Roland Garros – to abdicate after 428 weeks in total as number 1 in the world. It is the apotheosis: for the first time the Italian flag is on top of the ATP mountain; not even Pietrangeli and Panatta had succeeded in the feat achieved by the 23 year old from South Tyrol. In numbers, Jannik entered legend with the Slams he won – Australian Open and US Open – which made him the first Italian to win two Majors in the same season in singles. But that’s not all: the Italian also took home three Masters 1000s (Miami, Cincinnati and Shanghai), two 500s (Rotterdam and Halle), the ATP Finals in Turin (beating the American Taylor Fritz in the final) and the Davis Cup repeated in Malaga with all the other Italians (Matteo Berrettini, Lorenzo Musetti, Andrea Vavassori And Simone Bolelli; ct Filippo Volandri)an unprecedented result for our tennis, being the third victory of the trophy with the first dated 1976. In 2024 Sinner lost only 6 of the 76 matches he played: he therefore won around 92 percent, an extraordinary percentage and with few precedents in the history of tennis.
Victories that call for other victories in tennis: the girls win the pink Davis, the “Billie Jean King Cup” (2-0 to Slovakia, making up for the defeat in the final the year before against Canada), with Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini – to Malaga with Lucia Bronzetti, Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Martina Trevisan; ct Tathiana Garbin – extraordinary protagonists also at the Paris 2024 Games with a gold medal that makes history like the bronze won by a splendid Lorenzo Musetti. Without forgetting the rebirth of Matteo Berrettini: a tennis never seen before in these latitudes, as if Sinner had traced the path towards that unthinkable becoming reality.
But there is another wonderful photograph of this 2024 that our Sport puts on display in the gallery of the most beautiful triumphs: the gold of women’s Italvolley at the Games. And it is no coincidence that the magician is at the helm of this group, all heart and talent Julio Velasco. Him from the bench – 28 years after the silver with the men in Atlanta ’96 – and Paola Egonu on the pitch (MVP of the event) the symbols of a historic first time which culminated with a 3-0 victory over the reigning US champions with a performance bordering on perfection. And that tricolor waved in the Paris sky was the most exhilarating moment of an adventure that is already legendary.
But it was also a cursed year for the premature farewell to Totò Schillaci, a “homegrown” hero who became a legend in the blue shirt in the unforgettable World Cup in Italy ’90 which made him famous in the eyes of the world champion bomber. Totò Schillaci passed away at the age of 59 on the morning of September 18th, surrounded by the affection of his wife Barbara and his children Mattia, Jessica and Nicole. His goals and his being a simple champion will remain forever in the collective memory, especially in the memories of those people from Messina who saw him grow at the “Celeste”, where his fairy tale began.
