Former Italian tennis champion Adriano Panata explored the possibilities that Matthew Berrettini Y jannik sinner You have to win a Grand Slam. The former Roland Garros winner said, comparing the two situations: «Will an Italian tennis player win a Grand Slam in 2023? It’s difficult to predict what will happen.
Sure, looking for success in a Major at the moment is difficult, but I think we have the players to be able to reach the goal. Berrettini and Sinner have those possibilities and especially Matteo at Wimbledon, in 2021, he proved to be one of the best.
For me he is the one with the best chance of winning a Major in the short term. Long term though, I think Sinner will come out. He’s young, he’s training and he’s had a lot of setbacks this year.»
Can Italian men’s tennis win a Grand Slam again?
The only two Italian tennis players capable of winning a Grand Slam tournament in men’s singles were Nicola Pietrangeli and Adriano Panatta.
The former won Roland Garros twice, respectively in 1959 and 1960. Panatta, for his part, always won the title in Paris, but in 1976. Precisely in this context, the first final won on the pitches of the All England Club by an athlete Italian in 2021 is even more historic.
Obviously it’s Matteo Berrettini, who just couldn’t overcome the Novak Djokovic hurdle. The Italian proved to be one of the best tennis players on grass and, again this year, he could have had a say at Wimbledon. Building on successes achieved in Stuttgart and at Quenn’s, Berrettini was set to make his London debut when sudden Covid-19 positivity forced him to raise the white flag.
The other big star of Italian tennis, namely Jannik Sinner, conquered the quarterfinals in three of the four Grand Slams last season. If in the Australian Open against Stefanos Tsitsipas he had no chance of winning; at Wimbledon and the US Open, Sinner came within a step of the semifinal.
Berrettini was winning two sets through Djokovic and had a match point available against Carlos Alcaraz at Flushing Meadows. However, in both cases, he was the opponent to go on and win both the fight and the tournament.
