Wow. Defending champs Canada, without Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov (or Raonic) beat Italy (without Sinner and Berrettini but with Musetti, Sonego, etc) 2-0 after the singles... in Bologna. Incredible.
"They only think about profit, forgetting history and feelings": Panatta berates Sinner for decision to skip Davis Cup Finals
Tennis NewsThursday, 14 September 2023 at 16:01
Italy made a poor start to their Davis Cup Finals campaign being beaten with ease by a weakened Canada squad without leading lights in Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime who helped anchor them to glory last year.
One glaring omission from the Italy squad was a certain Jannik Sinner who came under heavy criticism from compatriot, Adriano Panatta.
Following his fourth-round loss at the 2023 US Open, he decided to withdraw from the group stages of the 2023 Davis Cup Finals citing a lack of recovery time between the two tournaments. Matteo Berrettini being injured and controversially, Fabio Fognini being left out has left them severely weak.
Panatta used this example to show `that priorities for many top tennis players are now skewed and they seek profit over national pride with Sinner also withdrawing previously or as Panatta said gave up on the Olympic Games.
He used a Moto GP rider who had a severe accident, but was back riding soon after as an example of how fatigue in his belief isn't a good enough excuse.
"Today, tennis players are businesses and, as such, they only think about profit, especially those around them, forgetting history and feelings. He had already given up on the Olympic Games, today he says no to the Davis Cup. Jannik is tired? Bagnaia, (the Italian Moto GP rider who suffered an accident last weekend) three days after the accident, was already on the bike...," he said, as reported by We Love Tennis.
He also weighed in on Fabio Fognini's exclusion which he thought was baffling and saw heavy criticism and even messages of intent through celebrations from the man himself.
"I’m with Fognini. Fabio is one of the greatest talents in our tennis and he can still give a lot. Moreover, he is still the best doubles player. I don't know why Volandri excluded him, but you should never forget everything a player has done for his country. Maybe it won't be that big because now no one is playing in the Davis Cup, but if for some reason we were to lose a singles match, then that could be a problem, because we don't have double. It's a very unpleasant story," he added.
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