When he won against Jannik and Carlos they were both very young, but they already “took your breath away”. Today, in addition to being a commentator for Sky, he coaches Massimo Giunta “a young boy from Rome on the rise”
Salvatore ‘Sabbo’ Caruso, the last Italian who beat Sinner. “Twenty August 2020, qualifications in Cincinnati, first tournament after the stop due to Covid. It was played in Flushing Meadows, New York, same courts as the US Open. I lost the first 7-5, then I recovered and closed the third 6-2”. Game, set and match Caruso from Avola, province of Syracuse. Since then, Jannik has become the cryptonite of his Italian colleagues: 19 derbies won in a row, the last against Pellegrino in the round of 16 in Rome. “Every time he plays against an Italian, I root very hard for Jan”, admits with a smile ‘Sabbo’, born in ’92, best ranking n.76 and who retired just a year ago. Come on, wouldn’t you do the same?
When did you find out about your record?
“They told me during a Challenger in Todi in 2023. I replied: ‘Really?’. I’m not someone who looks at statistics. I’m still the last Italian to have won, even if beating him these days is difficult for everyone.”
Shall we retrace that match?
“It was a Jannik under construction: he was already ‘breaking’ the ball like now, but there were moments in which he shot everywhere. After losing the first, in the second I break a bit like this, he becomes disunited and loses some certainty. I played a lot on the mental aspect, it was my strong point. In the third I won it, but I won’t deny that I immediately said to myself: in six months, maybe a year I can no longer compete. In any case, he was already 70 in the world, a few months later he would have won the first ATP title in Sofia and I was also there in that tournament. In the days off we trained together, I still have the videos shot by my osteopath I keep them jealously, because come on, it’s not for everyone…”.
The first time you met?
“At the Challenger in Como in 2018, a tournament that I won. He was 17 years old, he was a kid. At that age you happen to hang out with friends, have a bit of healthy messing around. Not him. I always saw him there, on the sidelines with his team, he managed everything differently than his peers. Much more mature. He studied, analyzed every little thing. It’s the aspect that struck me the most. And the following week we also played doubles together Genoa”.
“We win a good match right away, then we lose in the second round. I still remember my father’s call: ‘Sabbo, but why did you play doubles with this kid?’, he asks me. And I reply: ‘Dad, look, this one is going to be strong, eh…’. It’s a little scene that we still remember today.”
Strong strong, and that’s fine. But would he have expected it to be so strong?
“If I said yes I would be a liar. I imagined he would have entered the top ten, even five in the world. But seeing him dominate like this… But I repeat, behind it there is study, preparation, an uncommon maturity. In every interview he talks about improvement. Just think: he is the number one in the world, he has been destroying everyone for months but in any case he talks about what he can add to his game. This is why he is on another level compared to all the others”.
What is your secret in derbies against the Italians?
“It seems like he already wins them before taking the field. But this also applies to the other players, not just the Italians. We are in that phase, an aura has been created around him: when someone knows that he has to play against Sinner, he starts almost defeated. I saw the end of the match against Rublev in Rome. Andrey is a heartfelt man: he gets angry, smashes rackets, becomes a hyena. This time he was calm, almost as if to say: but what should I do with this? It makes me think of Nadal when he entered the central court in Paris, he had already won two sets in the tunnel. There is also the famous video before the final against Ruud. Looking at his face, it seemed that the Norwegian was asking himself: what am I doing here? Now the same thing happens with Jannik, it seems impossible to scratch him even before starting the warm-up”.
Two words and a number: Roland Garros 2019…
“I answer emotion. It was a wonderful experience. I start from the qualifiers, I win three matches in a row, then in the main draw I beat Munar in the first round. Then I challenge Simon on court 14: Frenchman, host, the crowd all for him. The best match of my career. Then comes the challenge against Novak Djokovic on Philippe Chatrier, third round. He, used to those stages, had just one box with few people. I, on the other hand, had asked for two, we were like there were thirty of us and we weren’t there. And then entering the pitch: I would pay to relive those thirty seconds.”
Are there similarities between the Djokovic of then and the Sinner of today?
“Yes and no. Nole led you to think that you had to do everything perfect to win the point. Against other players, when you get a simple forehand from mid-court you think: okay, strong shot and the point is done. With him, no, he forced you to think of having to hit the line, otherwise the ball would come back to you and he would take the point. He made you raise the bar automatically, it was incredible. And if you dropped it was over. With Sinner it’s different for a simple reason.”
“When you play against him you really risk being hit with balls. He doesn’t lead you to make mistakes, you simply don’t see the ball. It takes your breath away, as soon as you hit you see that the ball immediately comes back to you. I also felt this when I faced a very young Carlos Alcaraz.”
Shall we go over that match too?
“Challenger from Seville, it was 2019, Carlitos was like 16 years old. A kid. I was down 6-4, 5-2, then I managed to win. Don’t ask me how, I still don’t know. At the end of the match, Juan Carlos Ferrero, his coach at the time, came to talk to me, I knew him well because I had trained many times in his academy. He asks me: ‘So? What do you think of my young man?’. I reply: ‘What do you want me to tell you? Only 16 years old and it’s already scary’. He did the exact same thing as Sinner, he took your breath away.”
What is Salvatore Caruso doing today, one year after retiring?
“Look, at this exact moment I’m following the Giro d’Italia”.
Have you always followed cycling?
“No way! In total sincerity, years ago I was someone who completely disdained it. I wondered: are there really people who spend 12 thousand euros on a bicycle? Then, after the first outing with friends, I went home and… I spent 6 thousand euros on a bicycle”. (smiles)
How’s life as a former tennis player?
“I’d say well, I’m super busy. I coach Massimo Giunta, a young boy from Rome who is on the rise. This is the main activity, because in any case I like being on the pitch, experiencing the matches even if in a different capacity. Then I’m a commentator for Sky Sport, the world of commentary has always fascinated me and I feel great about it. It’s wonderful when, during the weekend, I go to comment on tennis and in the editorial office I find myself talking about athletics, volleyball, especially Formula 1 and MotoGP, of which I am a super enthusiast.”
Besides Massimo Giunta, are there any other Italian talents worth mentioning?
“Clearly Federico Cinà. Then Jacopo Vasamì, but I still have to classify him. I saw him in Rome last year, he hits the ball sensationally. He explodes, a bit like when he hits Sinner. I’ll also mention Pierluigi Basile, he’s talented and has a good head on his shoulders.”
Four Italians in the top 20: would you have bet on it?
“We are living in a sensational historical period. That is, 20% of the top twenty are Italian! I wouldn’t have bet a euro on it. Because it’s one thing to have the number 1 in the world, it’s another to have so many strong ones. And in fact we’ve won three Davis Cups in a row, it means that the Federation is doing a wonderful job.”
Coach and commentator, then?
“I also have some news: in July I will become a father for the first time. It’s a boy, his name will be Enrico.”
“He will do what he wants. I will certainly take him with me in October, when I play Serie A. It will be an indescribable emotion, like when I won in Barcelona: I remember a hug lasting at least three minutes with my coach Paolo.”
When will he ask you what tennis player your dad was?
“I will tell him that he was someone who really ran a lot, someone with a hard head. Someone who, when he had something in mind, did everything he could to achieve it. Someone who enjoyed the journey, despite some complicated moments. Someone who gave his all for this sport and who, today, when he looks back, has no regrets.”
Straightforward answers: who wins Roland Garros?
“Sinner. And I’m rooting for him.”
“I’m a pure Ferrari fan, I love Leclerc. But I say our Antonelli. Let’s do this: this year he wins with Mercedes, but then he has to come to Ferrari.”
“Bezzecchi all his life. How great we are Bez”.
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