Ex-ATP Pro Slams Compatriot Jannik Sinner for Skipping Davis Cup: “Huge Slap in the Face for Italian Sport”
Jannik Sinner is in Vienna to chase his fourth title of the season as well as his second title of the tournament.
Follow Us
Jannik Sinner (via X/Jannik Sinner Times)
🔍 Explore this post with:
Nicola Pietrangeli, a former ATP player from Italy, is hugely disappointed with Jannik Sinner‘s decision to skip the Davis Cup Finals, scheduled to start on November 18 in Bologna. Because of the long schedule, Sinner wants to have an extra week off so that he can start his pre-season earlier to prepare well for the Australian Open next year.
In the previous two seasons, the four-time Grand Slam champion helped Italy win the team event, clinching the win in every match he played. But his absence this year has sparked quite a stir in the Italian tennis community, with Pietrangeli saying representing the Davis Cup should be an ultimate goal for the Italian players.
It’s a huge slap in the face for Italian sport. I don’t understand when you say it was a difficult choice. We’re talking about playing tennis, not going to war. When it comes to the Davis Cup, it’s about the ultimate; the goal of any athlete is to wear the blue jersey.
Sinner made his Davis Cup debut in 2021 and has played 12 matches (singles and doubles combined). This year in the Davis Cup Finals, Italy will lock horns with Austria in the quarterfinals, and the win will pit them against France and Belgium.
Unfortunately, I know I’m talking about another era. I hope that during the Davis Cup, people don’t go somewhere else to play. I see that the world today is driven by money, and people put their hearts aside.
Nicola Pietrangeli added
Sinner is in Vienna to chase his second ATP 500 title of the season. He will start his campaign against Daniel Altmaier, against whom he holds a 2-1 head-to-head edge, losing the lone match in the second round of the 2023 Roland Garros.
Jannik Sinner on the improvement in his game
Jannik Sinner said he wanted to make small changes to his game after losing the US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz. He said he is ready to lose matches to implement those changes.
During the Six Kings Slam final against the Spaniard, what stood out the most was his serve, which, according to Emma Raducanu‘s former coach Mark Petchey, will only increase players’ problems when they face the 24-year-old. In the pre-tournament press conference in Vienna, Sinner admitted that he has been working on his serve a lot with his team.
One of them has been the serve, where we have worked a lot on the speed and the ball toss. It’s good, but it’s still not a completely automatic shot. With a little less time, certain decisions become frantic: there needs to be a balance between who I am and what we want to change. I’m good, but we work on it daily.
Sinner has so far lifted three titles this season (Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the China Open). Before arriving in Vienna, Sinner defended his title, pocketing the $6 million.
After Vienna, Sinner’s next destination will be Paris for the last Masters 1000 of the season. Sinner skipped the tournament last year and has no points to defend, and winning the tournament will help him dethrone Alcaraz from the top of the rankings table.
Alcaraz won’t be in action this week. He has won the most titles on the men’s tour this year (eight from 10 finals), and he, like Sinner, doesn’t have many points to defend in Paris, given that he lost in the third round last year.
The ATP Finals is the only tournament left where Sinner will enter as the defending champion. Last year, he defeated Taylor Fritz in the final. Alcaraz is yet to win the year-end championships.
Also read: Alexander Zverev Responds to Boris Becker’s Criticism of him Being “a Problem Child”
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)