Jannik Sinner, some clarity was needed to avoid misunderstanding: the link with the two footballers.
The 2024 edition of the Laver Cup is now archived. The members of Team Europe, which won it, did not even have time to enjoy the victory that it was already time, for all of them, to return to the court for Atp tour engagements. Yet, despite this, people still talk about what happened in Berlin in those extraordinary days.
Of one fact in particular, to be fair. Of the motivational speech, that is, that Flavio Cobolli gave to his teammate Carlos Alcaraz in the middle of a match that would have handed the team a very important point. In that circumstance, the Italian did what he thought was necessary, which was to spur the Iberian to do his best. And he chose, to that end, as the well-informed will recall, words that did not please much of the Bel Paese audience.
“You’re the best in the world, remember that,” said the Florence native, in particular, to the winner of Wimbledon and Roland Garros, unaware that, in doing so, he would be pitting himself against many sinnerists. That’s right: there are many who thought that with that sentence he disrespected the world number 1, and his fellow countryman, Jannik Sinner. The intention, needless to say, was not that. The fact that he was misunderstood, however, annoyed, and not a little, Cobolli himself, who in the midst of the controversy rightly thought it was time for some clarity.
Sinner, clarity is made: the whole truth
“Sinner? I’m his first fan, he’s a wonderful guy, and I’m definitely not the one who’s going to go and offend Jannik ever or offend him with shenanigans,” he said in the interview granted to the Georgy Tennis YouTube channel. ‘I don’t really know what to say about this, because I think it’s absurd what’s happening especially in Italy. ’
“But it’s not that I care much anymore, it also bothers me a little bit to tell and explain why, because I think intelligent people took it the right way and those who have to say something randomly took it differently. What do I say to a number 2, 3, 4, 1 in the world, on the bench being number 30 and ‘alternate’ at the Laver Cup? It was a moment in the match where he was playing well, and I think it was also quite nice that I said ‘pull hard on the lines,’ as if to say what can I say to you.” “It’s kind of like Ronaldo and Messi isn’t it? – added Cobolli further – That is, it’s not like you go and say to Ronaldo if you play them in a team together, ‘look Messi is stronger, but come on play well and win.’ You tell him ‘you are the strongest in the world’.”
“Right now in the world it’s Sinner and Alcaraz who are the strongest in the world and it’s only fair there should not be more of a rivalry in being the best in the world. They will fight for almost every tournament of their careers together and some will win one and some will win the other. I have tremendous respect for Jannik, I’m his first fan but just because he’s doing some incredible things, he’s dominating in his sport, he’s a wonderful guy, he’s someone who helped me a lot in the match before Griekspoor so I’m definitely not the one who’s going to go and offend Jannik ever or offend him with barbs. I’m the first fan, the first supporter and I think there should be a little bit more respect for them, because in the end then I don’t really care what they go and say.” And hopefully that will be enough to bring the curtain down on this very avoidable controversy.
