Gazzetta Sports Awards: Sinner, Davis Cup Italy and Bagnaia will be awarded

This time it will be the sun of Naples that will kiss the Sports Stars. The champions of champions of another fabulous season for Italy and beyond will find themselves on the sea to scan the horizons of other glorious undertakings: the Gazzetta Sports Awards show, now in its ninth edition, will in fact be celebrated on the MSC Fantasia ship on Wednesday 6 December and it will be broadcast by Gazzetta.it and La7 on 16 December in the late evening.

The prizes awarded by our newspaper will, as always, photograph a magical year, rewarding the heroes among the heroes. While waiting to find out who will win the other categories, we can anticipate the winners of the one reserved for the “Exploits of the Year”, which brings together Davis’ Italy, a fantastic team that made us relive emotions that are almost fifty years old , with Pecco Bagnaia, the MotoGP champion capable of confirming himself in a sport linked to the subtle balances of extreme speed.

all for one

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Jannik Sinner, the soul of the team that brought the Davis Cup back to Italy after 47 years, has always preached patience. The individual season of the Red Fox was excellent, at the top, with the achievement of number 4 in the rankings, the first Masters 1000 in his career and the last act of the ATP Finals, but in the matches that were worth the conquest of the famous Salad Bowl he reached peaks heavenly, winning three matches in singles, two in doubles and above all beating world number one Djokovic in the semi-final, canceling three consecutive match points. Following the long wave of their leader’s exploits, the comrades were ready with a mix of enthusiasm and talent that ended up dragging the passion of an entire country into the winning adventure. In doubles, although physically not at 100%, Sonego was Sinner’s trusted squire and their technical complicity cemented by their friendship off the court represented a fundamental asset in a specialty in which the opponents, on the eve, objectively seemed to be a step up over U.S.

And how can we forget the courage of Matteo Arnaldi, capable of overcoming the defeat in the debut match against the Netherlands and overcoming a delicate family moment to win the first fundamental point in the final against Australia. Musetti lost his singles match against Serbia, but he has the qualities to be one of the leaders in the coming years, and the advice of the “old” Bolelli represents the wise guide. Above all, Captain Volandri, who has built a group “that is a family” and whose cohesion and class will not make us wait another 47 years to lift that coveted silver trophy.

mental strength

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Bagnaia was the reigning champion, the one who, as neither Valentino Rossi nor Marc Marquez had done before him, had put aside his magic number, 63, to choose the number 1 that characterizes the champions, as Giacomo had done Agostini, Mick Doohan, Jorge Lorenzo or Casey Stoner. But if that number is an honour, it is also a burden, an additional burden of responsibility that at certain times, especially when things aren’t going well, you can’t help but think about. Bagnaia had to win, Ducati told him, the fans demanded it, and if at the beginning his superiority was almost overwhelming, it was precisely in the moment of difficulty that we saw his greatness and completeness as a rider. “I discovered that I was much stronger mentally than I thought,” Pecco said in Valencia the day after the great feat.

Well, if there is a way to explain this award as Exploit of the Year that Pecco will share with the Italian racket, it is precisely this enormous mental solidity of his, which led him to return to the saddle, and twice at a distance of 48 hours, in Misano Adriatico just six days after the dramatic accident in Barcelona which could have had very serious consequences. Which led him to repel every attack that was brought to him by Jorge Martin who had started to erode heavy points right from the race in Spain. Which saw him win from 13th position on the grid in Indonesia, giving the Pramac rider only 23 hours and 59 minutes of illusion of leading the World Championship. That in Valencia, in the last race, in Spain, on a track where the former teammate in Moto3 at the time of Mahindra has always been very strong, after the classic suffering on Saturday with the rival bearer of belligerent dreams, in the decisive appointment he it first led to the mistake, and then saw him take his second MotoGP World Championship, the third of his career, by winning the race. Which for an athlete represents the best way to reach apotheosis. Someone like that needs to be held tight.

The Gazzetta Sports Awards are created with the collaboration of important corporate and institutional partners. Also for this ninth edition, the winners in the respective categories will receive the ring designed by Maison Damiani as a prize. MSC Cruises is the Main Partner, as well as hosting the event on board the MSC Fantasia ship. Dr Automobiles Groupe and UnipolSai (which sponsors the Exploit of the Year awards) are Premium Partners. Santa Margherita is Sparkling Partner. Pastificio Felicetti, Riflessi, Vanini and EdiliziAcrobatica are partners. The event takes place under the patronage of the Municipality of Naples.