ROME: Jannik Sinner’s decision not to play for host Italy in the Davis Cup Final 8 is being met with a sense of abandonment in his home country — where he was fiercely defended during his doping case earlier this year.
The second-ranked Sinner, who led Italy to tennis’ biggest team trophy the past two years, said that he prefers to prepare for next season instead of helping the Azzurri aim for another title in Bologna next month.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but after Turin (where the ATP Finals are played the week before the Davis Cup), the goal is to start off on the right foot in Australia,” Sinner said, referring to the Australian Open, where he is the two-time defending champion.
“It doesn’t seem like it, but a week of preparation in that period can make a difference,” Sinner told Sky Italia on Monday from Vienna, where he is playing this week. “We already won the Davis Cup in 2023 and 2024 and this time we decided like this with my team.”
The front-page headline in Tuesday’s Gazzetta dello Sport translated to: “Sinner, think it over again.”
An accompanying editorial in the Gazzetta took Sinner to task for saying he already won the Davis Cup twice, pointing out how he also defended his title over the weekend in a lucrative exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
“So you’re not going to return to Riyadh for another $6 million? If you win another Wimbledon, you won’t go to London anymore? Pasta, coffee … Every five minutes you promote an Italian product. Do it with tennis, too,” the Gazzetta editorial said, referring to the multiple Italian brands that Sinner represents in TV and other advertisements.
Added 92-year-old Nicola Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open winner who was Italy’s most successful player until Sinner came along: “It’s a big slap in the face to the Italian sports world.”
Italians widely defended Sinner when he was hit with a three-month doping ban in February, while other top players insinuated that he received preferential treatment because of his high status and the time frame of the ban meant that he didn’t miss any Grand Slam tournaments.
Sinner has faced discrimination
It’s not the first time that Sinner has been criticized for not representing Italy. It happened when he didn’t play Davis Cup in 2023 and it happened when he didn’t play in the Paris Olympics a year later.
Sinner grew up in the German-speaking autonomous region of Alto Adige in northern Italy and has also faced an underlying sentiment that he’s not fully Italian.
Just last month, an Italian rapper was accused of inciting racial hatred for publishing musical lyrics saying that Sinner speaks with “Adolf Hitler’s accent.” Fedez, the rapper, later apologized.
Panatta defends Sinner
Adriano Panatta, who led Italy to its only other Davis Cup triumph in 1976, defended Sinner’s choice, noting how the team competition is not considered as important as it was in his playing days.
“Today’s tennis requires players to have complete devotion. The players are like CEOs of companies that carry their names,” Panatta wrote in Corriere della Sera. “Sinner has won the Davis Cup twice and now he needs a break to gear up for his main goals: winning Slams, playing up to (Carlos) Alcaraz’s level, reclaiming No. 1. Those are his priorities.”
Paolo Bertolucci, who also played on the 1976 team and is now a TV commentator, agreed with Panatta.
“I don’t see anything wrong with the decision,” Bertolucci told the Gazzetta. “Tennis has changed. Today what counts are the four Slams and then the ATP Finals. The rest is side stuff.”
Jannik Sinner’s decision to sit out Davis Cup criticized at home in Italy
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Jannik Sinner’s decision to sit out Davis Cup criticized at home in Italy
- Sinner said that he prefers to prepare for next season instead of helping the Azzurri aim for another title in Bologna
- “It doesn’t seem like it, but a week of preparation in that period can make a difference”
Drake Maye aims to do what Tom Brady couldn’t with the Patriots: win a playoff game in Denver
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.: Drake Maye has a chance to accomplish something not even Tom Brady did with the Patriots.
Maye is hoping to beat the Broncos in the AFC championship game in Denver on Sunday and lead New England to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018. The Patriots have never won a playoff game in Denver — losing all four tries, with Brady going 0-3.
“Just the AFC championship, the chance to go to the Super Bowl. That’d be huge,” Maye said. “Another road environment that’s had success in the past. … I know it would be a big-time win.”
The Patriots advanced to their 14th AFC championship game in the last 25 years on Sunday when they beat the Houston Texans 28-16 in Foxborough. Denver beat Buffalo 33-30 to reach the conference title game.
New England and Denver both finished 14-3 in the regular season, but the Broncos won the tiebreaker for home-field advantage because they had a better record against common opponents: Denver beat the Raiders twice this season but the Patriots lost to them.
That loss — to the worst team in the NFL in the first game of the Mike Vrabel era — sent New England into one of the most inhospitable environments in the league. In addition to the high-energy crowd, the Patriots will also have to contend with a low-oxygen environment that they won’t have a chance to acclimate to.
“Kind of what we’ve been doing on the road all season long,” said Maye, who has guided the Patriots to an 8-0 road record this season. “They’ve got a great team, so we’re going to have a tough challenge. But I’m looking forward to getting out there. And getting a chance to possibly celebrate on an away field would be pretty special.”
The last team to go undefeated on the road with a new head coach was the San Francisco 49ers under George Seifert in 1989; they won the Super Bowl.
“Coach has always been saying, ‘Road warriors,’” Maye said. “So, we’re trying to find that one more time and finish out strong what we’ve done this year.”
The Broncos are 18-5 in home playoff games all-time. But they’ll will be without starting quarterback Bo Nix, who broke his ankle near the end of the divisional round victory over Buffalo. Instead, the offense will be led by former Patriot Jarrett Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass since 2023.
That’s why New England opened as a 5½-point favorite — the biggest road favorite ever in a conference championship game. The line has since moved to Denver plus-4½.
“We always feel as though no matter what anyone else has to say, we still have something to prove,” said cornerback Marcus Jones, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Houston. “We’re trying to always prove ourselves right and not trying to prove other people wrong. That’s kind of the philosophy we’ve had for a long time.”
Win or lose, the Patriots could have trouble getting back to New England: A major snowstorm is expected to dump a foot or more of snow on the area.
Vrabel said the team is prepared if it can’t leave Denver on Sunday night.
“We have multiple plans of what could go on based on the weather. something that they’re familiar with here,” he said. “I mean, there’s things I can control, that I can’t control.”
