The former blue captain won the sports award for his career presented by the Foreign Press correspondents: “Matteo is a good boy. He remembers Panatta: gorgeous from the waist up, but the legs…”
Nicola Pietrangeli, honored by the foreign press with the Sports Lifetime Achievement Award, made an analysis of the moment of Italian tennis. Strengths and weaknesses, hopes and half-disappointments. Starting with Matteo Berrettini: “It seems to me that Matteo is dedicating himself more to advertising than to tennis… – underlined the 89-year-old Roland Garros champion -. I wouldn’t want him to end up like Volandri, who after beating Federer at Roma never won a match again. Berrettini is a good guy, but he’s a bit like Panatta was: fantastic from the waist up, but the legs…”.
No comparisons
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In his opinion, it is useless to make comparisons with his era: “The world has changed and tennis has changed too. It’s a different game, which seems uglier to me. Once upon a time, if you were a talent, it was up to you to become an athlete, today if you’re not an athlete, you don’t even enter the field”. After Berrettini’s wand, Pietrangeli also has some for Sinner: “In the Italian panorama he is the best Italian tennis player at the moment; he sings in one way, I “sang” in another. Compared to me he has an advantage: he is German. If he wins a Grand Slam? If I knew, I’d go and bet! However, the one who plays the most beautiful tennis is Musetti”.
February 16 – 8pm
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