The former Italian tennis legend Nicola Pietrangeli let loose with deplorable words addressed to Jannik Sinner, on a topic that people treat superficially and that concerns origins, countries of birth and, in essence, almost racist.
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"Hi, I'm Nicola Pietrangeli. You may remember me because I played football in the Lazio youth team. Well, I also played a few tennis matches. I wanted to say that Sinner is the best Italian tennis player of all time, and maybe even the best Austrian tennis player," said Pietrangeli, who emphasized how Jannik (a native German speaker) was born in a town on the border between Italy and Austria and that his native language and habits are more German-Austrian than Italian.
But I want to remember how the young Italian has always been very proud to represent his country and to feel 100% Italian.
Pietrangeli then also attacked his countryman Matteo Berrettini: "I personally loved tennis a lot, but compared to these players of today I'm an amateur. But I mean, certainly not a good one. Long live tennis, long live Sinner and let's also include Berrettini, because otherwise he'll take it out on me."
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But the criticisms of the 91-year-old don't end there. After Italy's second consecutive Davis Cup success thanks to the victories of Sinner and Berrettini, the two-time French Open champion explained that their path was not complicated at all. The team led by Filippo Volandri beat Argentina in the quarterfinals, Australia in the semifinals and the Netherlands in the final.
"It was a great feeling, but it's not like they beat any great opponents. I expected a different path from the United States. The only annoyance they had was the one with Argentina, for that initial setback. But then, when you already know you're starting with a one-point advantage, then you play more calmly," he said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.
Pietrangeli is very attached to the record of Davis Cup appearances, set thanks to the 164 matches - 110 in singles and 54 in doubles - played between 1954 and 1972. Precisely for this reason, the former Italian tennis player reminded everyone of the impressive statistic after the second consecutive success obtained by Italy in the most important team event. As has already happened several times, Pietrangeli was asked to talk directly about Sinner.
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"Rankings are made at the end of a career. Sinner and the others need three or four lives to beat all my records. Also because I have one that is unbeatable and it is the one linked to the 164 matches played in the Davis Cup. Having said that, to beat all my records, he is on the right path, for goodness sake. He is only 23 years old. Except for the one for matches played, though. That is untouchable," he added.
Pietrangeli then expressed his disappointment at not being invited to the awards ceremony for the team led by Filippo Volandri despite being present in Malaga.
"Let me be clear, I don't want to be controversial, but I'm the one who played the most matches, the Italians won the Davis Cup, I was in Malaga and no one called me for the Italian awards ceremony. I was sorry, to be honest. I think people would have been pleased to see a ninety-one-year-old be there, even just out of curiosity. I was a little disappointed," he explained.
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The team captained by Volandri won the second Davis Cup in a row, the third in its history. A very important goal, probably unthinkable until a few years ago, achieved thanks to a group of players who knew how to mix talent, sacrifice and cohesion.
In the same interview with Il Messaggero, Pietrangeli was then asked which team he thought was the strongest between the current one, capable of winning two titles in a row, or his own that lifted the title in 1976 as captain.
"Don't ask me mean questions. They are two different teams, both strong. Even the game is totally different: whoever manages to hit the hardest wins. There is little real spectacle, everything is too fast and you don't have time to think about the shot. It seems to me that this team is much more docile, made up of good guys," analyzed the 91-year-old.
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We recall Pietrangeli won a total of 48 titles in singles (of which 2 French Open), he played semifinal at Wimbledon Championships 1960 and quarterfinals at the Australian Open 1957. He won the bronze medal at the 1968 Olympics, when tennis was not an Olympic sport in those years, but only an exhibition tournament. Nicola also won 11 titles in doubles (including the French Open 1959) and 12 titles in mixed doubles, including the French Open 1958.
