Perhaps the full flowering of the “Tennaissance” – the remarkable rise of Italian tennis, especially on the men’s side of the game – will come on grass, not clay. That is a possibility after the recent spate of superb results by Italians on grass, including Jannik Sinner winning the Halle Open and Lorenzo Musetti reaching the final at Queen’s. It all augurs extremely well for the Italians at Wimbledon, where several of them have the chance of going deep in the tournament. And Sinner may even have a chance of winning.
As Ever, Sinner Leads The Way
As ever with Italian tennis at the moment, Sinner, the new men’s World No.1, is leading the way on grass. At the Halle Open in Germany, which in recent years has come to rival Queen’s as the major men’s warm-up event before Wimbledon, he won his first ever grass-court event by defeating Hubert Hurkacz, his close friend and regular doubles partner, in straight sets in the final, 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-2).
Sinner’s two successful tie-breaks in the final were in keeping with his tie-break record throughout the Halle tournament. He played a total of six tie-breaks in just four three-set matches, including a third-set or match tie-break against Jan-Lennard Struff in the quarterfinal, and won them all. In one sense, this was the perfect preparation for Wimbledon, because it demonstrated how extraordinarily cool and focused Sinner remains at all times on court, including in the high-tension stakes of a tie-break.
Of course, Sinner did not just excel in tie-breaks throughout the tournament, although if you are going to excel at any one thing, winning tie-breaks is a good one. His all-round game, especially his serve and forehand, looked in terrific shape, especially after the disappointment of losing his French Open semifinal in five sets to Carlos Alcaraz just a few weeks ago.
Sinner had gone into Roland Garros admitting that he was not fully match-fit or match-sharp after injury, and that may ultimately have cost him in his epic contest with Alcaraz. By contrast, he goes into Wimbledon having won his first tournament as the new World No.1, and on grass to boot. With Novak Djokovic still uncertain about whether he will play at Wimbledon, Sinner looks like being Alcaraz’s biggest rival at London SW19.
And As Ever, Lorenzo Musetti Falls Just A Little Short
In London W14 this weekend, Lorenzo Musetti never really looked like he could match Sinner’s feat in Halle by making it an Italian double at Queen’s. He had done superbly to reach the final against Tommy Paul, especially after enduring a relatively underwhelming season so far, the only real highlight of which was in the the French Open, where he went two sets to one up against Djokovic in the third round before losing in five sets in the early hours of the middle Sunday.
Perhaps it was because he had endured such a poor season up until Queen’s that Musetti celebrated reaching the final so wildly when he beat Australia’s Jordan Thompson, who like most Aussies is an experienced and capable grass-court player, in the semifinal. Normally, players only collapse in absolute delight on a court when they have won a title, but Musetti went early by celebrating in similarly extravagant style his semifinal success.
That may have been why Musetti started so poorly in the Queen’s final and never really recovered. Against Tommy Paul, another all-court craftsman who also loves the speed and sheer unpredictability of grass-court tennis, Musetti lost the first set 6-1 and lost his serve late on in the second set to allow Paul to serve for the title. The American faltered initially, allowing Musetti to take the set to a tie-break, but ultimately won through 10-8 in the shootout (after Musetti had led 4-1 at one point), to take the title and become America’s new No.1 ranked man.
Whether Musetti will ever become the No.1 ranked Italian man is highly questionable, not least because doing so might require becoming the World No.1, the position that Sinner currently holds. Musetti may have even more natural talent for tennis than Sinner, but he is yet to show anything like the steely consistency of purpose and play that has taken his compatriot to Major success and the top spot in the rankings.
Nevertheless, after such a disappointing season, which may be partly down to his becoming a father for the first time (with all the attendant knock-on effects for himself, not least lack of sleep), Musetti can take enormous encouragement from his recent pre-Wimbledon fortnight. He reached the semifinals in Stuttgart and the final in Queen’s, and will be hoping that he can make a similarly long run at Wimbledon to go beyond the fourth round at a Grand Slam for the first time.
And Other Italians Are Excelling On Grass, Too
Other Italian players, both male and female, are also excelling on grass in the incredibly brief grass-court season before Wimbledon. If Jannik Sinner is currently leading the way for all Italian players, the Italian player who really made the breakthrough on grass, a surface that Italians have traditionally struggled on, is Matteo Berrettini. In addition to becoming the first Italian of either gender in the Open era to reach a Wimbledon Singles final, he has also won both Stuttgart and Queen’s twice before.
This season, especially this grass-court season, has been Berrettini’s best since he lost the 2021 Wimbledon Men’s Singles final. Having struggled since 2021 with injury and Covid (which forced his last-minute withdrawal from Wimbledon in 2022), Berrettini has correspondingly struggled to regain his best form. However, in reaching the Stuttgart final for a third time, Berrettini triumphantly reminded everyone that at his best, and especially when his gigantic serve is functioning at its best, he can give anyone a game on grass.
And it is not only Italian men who have been recording fine performances on the green stuff. At the Birmingham Classic, a Challenger event that is none the less one of the most important women’s warm-up events before Wimbledon, Elisabetta Cocciaretto reached the semifinals, beating former Major winners Jelena Ostapenko and Sloane Stephens en route, before losing to the eventual champion, Yulia Putintseva. That was obviously not as impressive as her compatriot, Jasmine Paolini, reaching the French Open Women’s Singles final recently. However, it was still another impressive run that demonstrated the rude health of Italian tennis on both the men’s and women’s side of the game.
What Are The Italian Prospects for Wimbledon?
With the exception of the defending men’s champion, Carlos Alcaraz, Wimbledon 2024 looks tantalisingly open in both the Men’s and Women’s Singles. If Djokovic does not make it on to Centre Court, the brilliant young Spaniard will be even more fancied to retain his title. However, Sinner is a former semifinalist and after his triumph in Halle he looks as if he has really found his feet (and footwork) on grass. He looks certain to be Alcaraz’s main rival for the men’s crown.
Given the constant ups and downs in their games, which are in sharp contrast to Sinner’s stunning consistency, Musetti and Berrettini are not nearly as likely to go deep in the tournament. However, Berrettini has already proved that his serve and forehand are a match for anyone on grass. And if Musetti can curb the excessive celebrations after winning matches, he can also reach the second week at least.
Other Italian prospects, such as Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Arnaldi (both of whom did so well in the French Open), have not yet translated their impressive clay-court form on to the grass courts of Europe, particularly England. But with Sinner continuing to be the flagship for all Italian tennis, all other Italian boats can rise in his wake.
In effect, there is something of an Italian Armada at work in tennis at the moment. Inspired by Sinner, who so many Italian players have admitted has driven them all on, that Armada can set sail for Wimbledon in good spirits. No Italian tennis player, male or female, has ever won a Wimbledon Singles title and it is by no means certain that that record will change this year. However, given the enormous strides taken by Sinner, and to a lesser extent Musetti and Berrettini, it will be a surprise if it does not change over the next decade.
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
