Fabio Fognini has praised Jannik Sinner for bringing the ‘passion’ of tennis to Italy following his surge in form on the Tour in recent months.
The 37-year-old veteran believes his compatriot has helped bring tennis into the limelight in his home country after being in the shadows of football. Sinner won his maiden Grand Slam title earlier this year at the Australian Open before going on to become the first Italian in history to reach No.1 on the PIF ATP ranking system. Eurosport Italy reported that Sinner’s Australian Open final clash with Daniil Medvedev was watched by the biggest-ever audience in Italy for any single sports broadcast during its 34-year history. So far this season, he has won 41 out of 44 matches played going into his fourth round clash against Ben Shelton at Wimbledon.
For years Fognini has been headlining men’s tennis in his country. He has been ranked as high as ninth and won nine ATP trophies, including the Monte Carlo Masters. However, Sinner’s achievements are on a whole new level.
“We are feasting our eyes on Jannik and all the other jiovani (young players),” Fognini wrote in an Instagram story.
“It’s nice to see the passion that Sinner is bringing to Italy and this is a great thing. After 20 years we only talked about Roger, Rafa and Nole, now it’s the Italians’ turn.
“I’ve always supported tennis, even though obviously I lived it as a competitor and there was always the sporting gnawing feeling if I lost.
“Now I watch tennis and smile. There are many of us and they talk about us, finally in Italy we talk about our sport, it’s no longer just football, football, football.”
Fognini’s tribute comes after a strong run for him at Wimbledon where he beat France’s Luca Van Assche before going on to stun sixth seed Casper Ruud in straight sets. His campaign was ended by Roberto Bautista Agut who prevailed in a marathon five-set battle on Friday.
“They were two excellent weeks after a three-year absence on grass, I have to say that I enjoyed it.” He said of his recent performances.
“Now I’m a little disappointed but the outcome is absolutely positive. I play because I still love this sport. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I’m happy because I’m playing well and I’m having fun.”
Fognini is projected to rise up the rankings to around 80th in the world as a result of his Wimbledon run. This will be his best position in over a year.
