Tennis superstar Jannik Sinner’s cancellation of the Davis Cup finals in front of his home crowd is causing a stir in Italy. Former greats of the Italian tennis scene have no understanding of Sinner’s decision.
Adriano Panatta, French Open winner in 1976, wrote in a column for the newspaper “Corriere della Sera”: “I would never have given up the Davis Cup.”
Panatta continued: “And if anyone on the team had done that, it would have been the teammates and the captain first – even before the association – who would have demanded explanations in the harshest possible way.”
At his time, the Davis Cup was one of the few major priorities of a tennis player. “Today that’s no longer the case,” says Panatta.
“Slap in the face for Italy’s sport”
Italy’s tennis legend Nicola Pietrangeli spoke loudest. “This is a slap in the face for Italian sport,” he told the Ansa news agency. “I don’t understand why this should be a difficult decision. He plays tennis and doesn’t have to go to war.”
The Italian Tennis Association said on Monday that Sinner would not take part in the finals in Bologna from November 18th to 23rd for reasons of stress. The world number two spoke of a “not easy” decision.
Rejection came after winning a show tournament in Saudi Arabia
After the 24-year-old South Tyrolean’s rejection, the sports newspaper “Gazzetta dello Sport” headlined: “Sinner, think about it again”. Sauer also noted to a commentator that the cancellation was announced after Sinner’s victory at the Six Kings Slam show tournament in Saudi Arabia: “So you won’t be returning to Riyadh to earn another $6 million?”
As a reference to Sinner’s numerous advertising contracts with Italian brands, the comment continued: “Pasta, coffee… Every five minutes you advertise an Italian product. Do the same with tennis.”