As I climb the steps that lead to the section of the stand assigned to the press I hear: “…well, at least Jannik will play without pressure”, and I don’t understand if it’s a hope or a regret. He might even feel the pressure, given that tonight the ranking of his group, named after Ilie Nastase, will be decided: if he beat Daniil Medvedev or lost by 2 sets to 1, they would be guaranteed first place, while Taylor Fritz he would place second; if instead he went down 2 sets to 0, he would enter the semi-final as second, the Russian would take the lead of the group and the Californian would immediately leave for Malaga, supported by his partner Morgan Riddle.
As Simone Eterno of Eurosport argues, Sinner probably doesn’t practice these calculations, not caring if on Saturday he has to face Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz o Casper Ruudall differently difficult. It is one of its qualities that it always remains impervious to external influences. He has demonstrated it in these eight months marked by the traps placed on his path by the ITIA, the WADA or the CAS, prosecutors and sports tribunals from which one never knows what to expect. Imagine if it now makes him anxious to have to wait for the conclusion of the last match of the other group, the John Newcombe, tomorrow evening, to find out who will compete for the place in the last act of the ATP Finals.
In Tuesday’s press conference, when it was almost midnight, Jannik had let slip a personal reflection (it rarely happens to him) on his relationship with his opponents: “I also found myself in the position of having to face a number 1 in world. I went into the field knowing I didn’t have much to lose. Some players have already beaten me and it doesn’t matter if they are now number 2 or 3. I simply rely on what I have learned in previous matches and try to do better, to remain very present to myself. I don’t think about the past, I don’t think about the future.”
The doubts and obediences of journalists and the public quickly melt away. Daniil – another tennis player who doesn’t know what anxiety is, perhaps because outbursts of anger are enough for him – tries to set up the match in his own way, with rudimentary strategy and absolute determination. Sinner lets him vent, keeping him at bay thanks to his careful shifts of duty. In the sixth game he gets two break points, which he lets slip only because Daniil’s reaction is vehement. The red boy shows off a backhand that is becoming one of his most deadly weapons – thanks to Novak Djokovic’s free lessons, match after match – and which is decisive in breaking the balance in the eighth game. The next round of service, that of the set, gives him first place in the Nastase group and Fritz the semi-final.
Sinner does not spread in the second half. At the start the Muscovite suffers a break which neither stuns him nor takes away his certainties, so much so that he recovers the gap in the sixth game. At the reply at 4 all, the Italian however placed two fifteens that deserved standing ovations as the seals of exhausting exchanges. Fab Four stuff ten years ago. After 73 minutes, the score is 6-3 6-4 which goes down in the history of great tennis in Turin.
Instead, everyone distinctly felt gusts of anxiety during the early afternoon singles match, which they saw in front Fritz is Alex de Minaur. They came from the corner of the number 5 in the world, in excellent form, defeated honorably by Sinner on Tuesday in straight sets and today in difficulty against the least efficient player of this edition of the ATP Finals. Taylor, just twenty-seven years old, suffered in the seventh and eleventh game of the debut set, when he let his opponent, born in 1999, positively transform the first two of the six overall break opportunities he obtained. The subsequent reversal of roles was the natural consequence of the quality of Fritz’s baseline tennis and the fewer changes in pace imposed by the Australian as time passed. The score, 5-7 6-4 6-3, accurately reflects what happened on the pitch of the Inalpi Arena. Then, the long wait began for the American number 1, which ended with Sinner’s serve to zero which at 9.15pm, with the first set, marked the early exit from the scene of Medvedev, winner of the 2020 London Finals
#present #anxiety #Sinners #version
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