Italy turns the page on football, and turns its attention to Jannik Sinner vs. Matteo Berrettini

WIMBLEDON—Soccer’s European Championships and World Cup are almost always staged during Wimbledon.

Given Italy’s obsession with the sport and many successes, it’s no surprise that the plight of the Azzurri perennially overshadow the nation’s performers at Wimbledon.

It even happened in 2021, when Matteo Berrettini became the first Italian to reach the Wimbledon final. That year, a relatively unfancied Italy won the European Championships by downing host England on penalties at Wembley the same day Berrettini fell to Novak Djokovic.

But this year, there’s hardly a chance of being overlooked.

A national team devoid of creativity and finishers exited 2-0 to Switzerland in the round of 16 at the Euros last weekend in Germany, fully rendering Berrettini, Jannik Sinner, Jasmine Paolini and company (and they have plenty of company) in the spotlight. With Berrettini and Sinner facing off Tuesday on Centre Court, tennis fans figure to be glued to the second-round blockbuster.

Those in Italy might be torn, however.

“Of course right now Jannik is becoming really, really important in Italy,” Paolo Lorenzi, tournament director in Rome, told TENNIS.com on a nippy day at Wimbledon that saw only the hearty don short sleeves. “A lot of people support him, but they cannot forget what Matteo did. He made some unbelievable results.

“So I don’t know who they will cheer for, but I think they will enjoy a lot.”

“Everybody was hoping they would be in separate halves of the draw because both have a chance to go much further, so this is the worst draw possible,” added Ubaldo Scanagatta, an author and journalist with an encyclopedic knowledge of Italian tennis. He has covered the sport for 50 years.

“Everyone in Italy was very, very sorry.”

It won’t be the first time Italians tangle in a Grand Slam—more precisely, it’s the seventh time among the men at Wimbledon—but not many encounters of the past match its allure. One that certainly did, as acknowledged by Lorenzi and Scanagatta, came when Flavia Pennetta met Roberta Vinci in the 2015 US Open final. Both sought a maiden Grand Slam crown, with Pennetta bettering her childhood friend the round after the sprightly Vinci ended Serena Williams’ hopes of achieving a calendar-year Grand Slam.

But the occasion remains grand indeed on Tuesday, especially since Sinner claimed his first Grand slam title in January at the Australian Open, and became Italy’s first No. 1 in singles last month.

“Of course the final in New York between Flavia and Roberta was an amazing moment,” said Lorenzi, an all-arounder who achieved his best tour results in his mid-30s. “But in this moment, to have the No. 1 in the world that is Italian against Matteo, who is a Wimbledon finalist, I (thought) it’s something that would never happen.”

Blame Berrettini’s woes of the last couple of years on a plethora of injuries. But a win over Sinner could pave the way for another deep stay at Wimbledon and climb up the rankings, if his body cooperates. The trainer visited Berrettini for a back complaint in his opener on Monday. (Sinner slipped on the grass Monday, but said he was fine.)

Sinner would hardly enter panic mode with a defeat, though exiting in the second round in his first Grand Slam as the No. 1 is something he would obviously rather avoid.

Showing his grass-court prowess, an undercooked Berrettini still downed seeds Alex de Minaur and Alexander Zverev last year at Wimbledon before playing a competitive four-setter against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Separated by six years, the pair surfaced from different eras. Additionally, the ginger-haired Sinner hails from Northern Italy, while the dark-haired Berrettini is a Roman who exhibits more feistiness. They share ties to fashion brands—Berrettini with Boss and Sinner with Gucci—but differ in their approach, according to the elder of the two.

“He’s so funny because all the time he says, ‘They’re telling me what to wear,’ and I wear it,” said Berrettini, who is slightly more proactive.

They’ve never been frosty with each other, though, and bonded when an injured Berrettini rooted Italy on during the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga last season. Sinner praised Berrettini’s “positive energy,” while the latter marveled at the 22-year-old’s ball striking from up close.

“I wasn’t on tour to see him ‘live’ with my eyes. And then I had the chance to go in Davis Cup, and it was unbelievable,” said Berrettini, who began his Wimbledon sojourn in 2023 by edging countryman and good friend Lorenzo Sonego.

“It was like we were looking at each other saying, ‘Is this guy real?’ Because he wasn’t missing. Hitting every ball full power. It was just the confidence that he built throughout the year was unbelievable. Just kept improving all the things that he is working on with his coaches.”

Sinner won their lone head-to-head encounter last year on hard courts in Canada, 6-4, 6-3, saving all seven break points he faced in the first set.

“I think his secret is that he is really hungry for improvement,” added Berrettini. “And the humbleness that he has about it. Yeah, just special.”

Be it straight sets or a five-set thriller, Tuesday’s match is bound to attract numerous headlines, as soccer—football, in Italy—takes a backseat.

“Now, everyone is talking about tennis,” said Lorenzi. “We are getting closer to football and I think this is the best thing that can happen to the sport.”