"Everyone in Italy speaks about tennis now, watches it" - Luca Nardi on impact of Jannik Sinner's Australian Open triumph
The impact of Jannik Sinner’s Australian Open triumph is not lost on those playing tennis back home in Italy and youngster Luca Nardi would testify to just as much.
The Italian spoke about the winds of change that Sinner’s triumph Down Under — a first singles Major title for an Italian since Flavia Pennetta’s 2015 US Open win — has brought to the sport in the country as he sat down for an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda on the sidelines of the Chennai Open Challenger.
Nardi said everyone has begun watching tennis and talking about the sport since Jannik Sinner’s heroics at the Australian Open, saying the win was great news for the sport in the country. The World No. 4 beat Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals before defeating Daniil Medvedev in five sets in the summit clash.
Nardi, who is 20 years old, went on to express hope of being part of the rich legacy of Italian tennis in the future.
“Because of Jannik Sinner you know, everyone now in Italy speaks about tennis, watches tennis. So it’s a very nice feeling and it’s very good also for our sport and I hope that I can be part of that in the future,” Luca Nardi said.
Playing at the Chennai Challenger, Nardi secured a few good wins. The top seed at this year’s tournament opened his campaign with a comfortable win over Eric Vanshelboim.
The Italian has since gone on to beat former top-20 player Bernard Tomic and Stefano Napolitano to book a spot in the semifinals. He will next take on Jason Tseng for a place in the summit clash.
Luca Nardi looks back at Jannik Sinner-led Italian team winning Davis Cup
Luca Nardi also looked back at the Italian team winning the Davis Cup at the back end of last year, where Jannik Sinner spearheaded the challenge and scored big wins including one over Novak Djokovic in the knock-out rounds.
Nardi said Italy had a very competitive team despite a senior player like Matteo Berrettini being sidelined due to injury.
“We knew that we have a very competitive team even with a senior like Matteo Berrettini not playing, I mean, he wasn't playing because he was injured last year, but last year. And I'm sure for the year to come, we are going to have such a competitive team,” Luca Nardi said in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda.
The youngster went on to express hope of being included in the Italian Davis Cup team himself in the future, saying it depended on his own form and a little bit on the captain who picks the squad.
“I will try to do it, but it depends, first on me, but also on the captain,” the youngster said.