Italian Tennis President Considers Italian Open and Davis Cup More Valuable Than Jannik Sinner’s Two Grand Slam Wins

World No.2 Jannik Sinner has played six finals and won the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Italian Tennis President Considers Italian Open and Davis Cup More Valuable Than Jannik Sinner’s Two Grand Slam Wins

Jannik Sinner, Italy's Billie Jean King Cup team (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ, Mario Boccardi)

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Defending champions Italy secured an emphatic 2-0 win over the USA to win their sixth Billie Jean King Cup title. It was all thanks to World No. 91 Elisabetta Cocciaretto and World No.8 Jasmine Paolini.

Cocciaretto helped Italy win the first point with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Emma Navarro. It was Paolini’s turn next to do the damage, and she wasted no time in dismantling Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-2.

Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, Angelo Binaghi, during his interview on SuperTennisTv, said he considered Italian players’ wins in the Italian Open and Davis Cup more valuable than Jannik Sinner‘s Australian Open and Wimbledon wins this season, which he clinched by beating Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz, respectively.

Sinner won two Slams, [Lorenzo] Musetti had an extraordinary season, but if someone had asked me what I dreamed of winning one day, I would have said the Italian Open in singles and doubles and the Davis Cup.

Sinner, after making his comeback from the three-month doping ban, reached his first Italian Open final but lost the match to Alcaraz. Musetti has reached the Monte Carlo Masters final (lost to Alcaraz), the French Open semifinal (again lost to Alcaraz), and the US Open quarterfinals (Sinner beat him). He is currently participating in the Chengdu Open and will meet Alexander Shevchenko in the semifinals.

That’s exactly what Paolini did this year: she couldn’t win the Davis Cup, but she won the BJK Cup. She achieved a combination this year that is perhaps the most beautiful of all.

Angelo Binaghi added

Paolini and Italy finished runners-up to Canada in 2023, but clinched the title last year by beating Slovakia, ending their 11-year wait. USA, a record 18-time winner, played their first final since 2018.

In Grand Slam events, Paolini couldn’t progress beyond the fourth round in singles, reaching the stage only at the French Open. She and compatriot Sara Errani clinched the French Open doubles. The two-time Grand Slam singles finalist won both the singles and doubles titles at the Italian Open this year.

Jannik Sinner sets his eyes on the ATP Finals

Four times this year, Carlos Alcaraz stopped Jannik Sinner from winning a title. After the Italian Open, Sinner lost to the Spaniard at the French Open.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

And even though he took his revenge in the Wimbledon final and gave a walkover to him in the Cincinnati Masters, he was no match for the six-time Grand Slam champion at the US Open. Sinner now trails 5-10 in the head-to-head matchups against Alcaraz and also lost his No.1 ranking to the Murcia native after his US Open failure.

But during an interview with Sky Italia, Sinner made it clear that his main goal for the rest of the season is to defend his crown at the ATP Finals.

Now I’m leaving for Beijing, and there are still many important tournaments. Physically, I feel good; after the US Open, I was completely at peace. I’m ready to get back on track and make some changes to further improve as a player. The goal is Turin, to play well, and then we’ll see how things go. I’m happy to be back on the tennis court, because that’s where I feel alive.

Sinner will be the top seed at the China Open as defending champion Alcaraz (who beat Sinner last year) will be skipping the ATP 500 event in Beijing and instead will make his debut at the Japan Open. After Beijing, Sinner’s goal will be to defend the Shanghai Masters, which he clinched last year by beating Novak Djokovic. A few more tournament wins will help Sinner dethrone Alcaraz.

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