Sara Errani, an icon of Italian tennis

The tall and the short, the wiry and the flabby, or the clever servant and the foolish one, the old miser and the young lover are basic archetypal characters that playwrights have always exploited, from the time of Aristophanes to Plautus, passing through Shakespeare and Goldoni. Looking at the field today Sara called “Sarita” Errani and Andrea “Wave” Vavassori – but also, on the other half of the pitch, Taylor “Tee” Townsend and Donald “Dy” Young – I notice how different they are and, precisely for this reason, they work well, compensate each other and entertain us.

Like the antithetical characters in comedies from millennia ago as well as today, the two Italian finalists in the US Open mixed doubles tournament are synergistic, they set and place balls as if they were lines from a text, they exchange the roles of protagonist and sidekick, with Errani formidable from every point on the court and – incredible! – at the service and Vavassori deadly at the net and on the return. The 163 centimeters of the player from Romagna and the 193 of the player from Pinerolo perhaps confuse the two expert American left-handers a little, she 80 kilos, he 79, who nevertheless manage to contain the evident better efficiency of their opponents for a long time.

Sarita and Wave have more opportunities to take off but must always keep their guard up to prevail in the first partial at the tie break (dominated, 7-0), in the second thanks to the break obtained at the last dive, in the twelfth game (7-5). Speaking after the award ceremony in front of the cheering crowd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Andrea has words of affection and respect for Sara, “who is a source of inspiration for all of us in the Italian tennis movement”. Errani proves that at 37 you can return to the top of tennis after being – over fifteen years ago – top 10 in singles, having reached a final at Roland Garros alone and won five slams and three Fed Cups alongside Roberta Vinci. This year with Jasmine she won the Internationals, played the final in Paris, won gold at the Olympics and now, with Wave, conquered New York: indeed, an example, even an icon. The Italian tennis movement rejoices with her. In the twelve months richest in successes ever – from the triumph in the Davis Cup to the Olympics, from the results of Sinner and Paolini in the slams to the repeated victories at all ATP levels – the small cherry of a title never even touched like that of the mixed was tempting. The cherry has arrived, because Errani is a motivator who has the grit that twenty-year-olds often lack and Vavassori is a tough and positive guy who at 29 finds full satisfaction in the specialty, doubles, of which he is now number 7 in the world.

In the two semi-finals of the women’s singles tournament, the favourites advance to the next round Aryna Sabalenka and the unexpected, at least on the eve of the slam, Jessica Pegula. The Belarusian, 26, struggles just right, 6-3 7-6, against the American Emma Navarro, 23, who confirms how good she has shown this season. The WTA number 2 has a blackout in the final phase of the second set, running some risks before the tie break (7-2) in which she does not let herself be distracted by her opponent or by the crowd that loudly supports the local favorite. “Well, guys, now cheer for me,” she will say laughing during the interview on the court, adding with a touch of controversy that “well, maybe it’s a little too late.” On Saturday, if possible, the crowd will be even more hostile.

Jessica Pegula returns home tonight – in New York her family has several properties and she manages her extra-sports activities in the cosmetics sector from there – with the double satisfaction of being able to try to win a slam for the first time at 30 years old and of having, in the meantime, reached the third position in the world rankings, her best ranking. Today she badly loses the first set, which Karolina Muchova dominates, but then she puts pressure on her opponent, ties the scores and, taking advantage of the Czech’s evident difficulty in the third set, goes to take the pass to the final. It ends 1-6 6-4 6-2. Dad Terrence, popular owner of the Buffalo Bills, NFL, and the Buffalo Sabres, NHL, watches her from the team corner, more excited than when his teams put in an exceptional performance on some American football or hockey field.