Italy's chances at Euros 2024 seen through the eyes of a tennis champion

World number one Jannik Sinner believes that Italy has a chance to do well at Euros 2024. The multination football tournament is already underway, and 24 teams from Europe are battling it out to secure the ultimate glory. Italy entered the tournament as the defending champion, defeating England in the final on penalties.

Sinner, who is also from Italy, was recently quoted in a report. In it, he expressed optimism about the team’s chances in the mega-event and stated that the current Italian side is young and talented, and it will be important for them to start strongly.

“It’s going to be very interesting to see,” he said. “We [Italy] have a very young team. We made some changes, so it’s going to be interesting. I had the honour to watch some preparation, practice matches, in Miami. They played good, so hopefully we can start off very well. I think it’s important for the confidence level, so let’s see. It’s going to be exciting.”

Sinner is already regarded as one of the most highly rated players in men’s tennis's singles category, alongside Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz. The San-Candido-born star recently became the world number one in the men’s singles category, overtaking it from Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic.

The 37-year-old, who is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles, lost the top spot after going through a lean patch in 2024 where he is yet to play in a final of any event.

In his most recent appearance in the French Open, the Belgrade-born star was forced to withdraw from the mega-event after suffering a knee injury just before the start of the quarterfinal to Norway’s Casper Ruud.

On the other hand, Sinner also participated in the French Open but was knocked out after losing in the semifinal to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who came out on top in a five-set thriller with a score of 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. The newly crowned world number one is currently taking part in the Halle Open, where he defeated Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the first round with a score of 6-7, 6-3, 6-2.