After three months of stasis and a week of hysteria here in Rome, Jannik Sinner finally returned to the Tennis Court.
During his first match since his victory for the Australian Open, the first since his lawyers agreed to a practical suspension for two failed doping tests, the world n ° 1 beat Argentina Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-4.
“It was an incredible feeling to be back,” he said. “I waited a long time for this moment. The result does not matter. It was a remarkable day for me.
The Italico Foro was drowned in carrots on Saturday. Carrot hats, carrot t-shirts, even a man dressed in carrot.
Red hair “ Carrot Top ” from Sinner – so unusual in Italy – were adopted by its fans such as the symbol and the color of their devotion and orange flooded the stands of the central campo.
An Italian journalist to whom I spoke described the follow -up of Sinner as “a religion” and there were strange parallels between his return and the election of a new pope just 3 km south.
Jannik Sinner made a victorious return to the Italian Open after his three -month doping ban
Home Hero Sinner beat Argentina Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-4 in the round of 64 in Rome
Spectators disguised as carrots and orange clothes wore to show support for the sinner
While the faithful piled up on Saint-Pierre square, another pilgrim brand has descended on the Italico Foro.
Sinner arrived on site at lunchtime and was taken through a sea of fans in a buggy – it looked like a public appearance of a pontiff in his Pope mobile.
He practiced in court 5, which has a public stand and is sounded from other sides by the balconies of the hospitality of companies – there was only one man that the high -collers had seen.
The fans have invaded the public stand, stacking five depth cameras and holding cameraphones above the heads, taking blind shots in the hope of capturing the holy image of Sinner.
It was quite extraordinary: there were a lot of seats elsewhere with an excellent view of world class tennis, but instead, these people stood on tiptoe and increased their neck to see a lightning lightning, a fraction of a forehand, a thumb of freckles.
We await the official confirmation of attendance, but the Foro Italico was lifting, with completely outdated food stands.
It seems that the legend of Sinner in his country of origin has been improved, rather than decreased, by his three -month doping ban.
Not that he should have been welcomed by rotten tomatoes. The two tennis authorities who have erased it completely and the world’s anti -doping, which called on the search for a ban, clearly indicated their conviction that the sinner had no intention of drugs and no knowledge of the clostebol entering its system.
An Italian journalist Mail Sport spoke following the sinner as “a religion”
The welcome of a hero has never been in doubt; How he would happen was less certain
Three months of inaction is not a joke for an athlete who is used to participating almost every week
But the case was nevertheless extremely controversial. Novak Djokovic claimed to represent the majority view of the locker room when he considered that Sinner had received a preferential treatment.
Here in Italy, the point of view is the opposite: they believe that Wada would not have disturbed the intervention in the case of a lower profile player.
“He is a saint,” explains the local journalist, with an expressive shoulder to besides, when I ask how the prohibition of doping is seen in Italy. If it looks like an exaggeration, a fan shirt indicates: “Lord forgives me, the sinner is back”, with the head of the world n ° 1, the head has photoshop on an image of the rebirth of a saint, halo and everything.
After all this, there was tennis to play. The antipasti was Matteo Berrettini, a beloved son of Rome, against Jacob Fearnley in Great Britain. A tense victory 6-4, 7-6 for the Italian-in which Fearnley led 5-2 in the second set before disappearing physically-advanced local fans.
And now for the sinner. The welcome of a hero has never been in doubt; How he would happen was less certain.
Three months of inaction is not a joke for an athlete who is used to participating almost every week. And during the first two months of his ban, the sinner was forbidden to practice with his professional colleagues.
Navona is perhaps the number 99 of the world, but he is a specialist in the clay courtyard and well capable of exposing a rust. The sinner made some additional mistakes that usually and the second set was tighter than he should have been, but on this proof, his best level is not too far.
And when this point is reached, these three months spent recharging while his rivals struck him can begin to feel like a disguised blessing.
The sinner showed signs of rust but on his testimony, his best level is not too far
It seems that the legend of the sinner in his country of origin has been reinforced by his suspension
“I have the impression that we have prepared in the best possible way,” said Sinner. “Of course, I missed the comments of official matches, which is the best comment that a player can get. At least now, I have an overview of what I do well and what I need to improve.
“I hope I can play one or two more games here to see where I am, which would be my main goal. Then everything else is just a positive.
“It was an excellent start of this tournament and return. Let’s see what is coming.
