lallo: interessante il tuo punto di vista, ovviamente è difficile generalizzare ma capisco il tuo punto…solo che spesso nel tennis, sport globale per eccellenza,tennisti della stessa nazione si allenano appunto chi a casa, chi in US, chi in spagna, chi addirittura in Italia…il che potrebbe demolire la tua ipotesi…o no? Ma capisco il concetto, in effetti fa pensare… Quando vennero fuori gli Svedesi dopo Borg, per es, possibile che era tutta questione di buoni geni? Ma era anche evidente che era buono il sistema, era buona la scuola…Con gli Argentini invece i dubbi potrebbero essere un po’ più perrtinenti, ahimè…

Questa é una parte della storia di Novak Djokovic quando ha giocatto (ed vinto) quest’anno il Estoril Open. Ho fatto questo articolo per tennis.com.; ecco il giorno della sua partita com Igor Andreev ed il suo rincontro con il piccolo canonieri italiano Fabrizio Miccoli, calciatore di Benfica. La notte precedente ‘Nole’ ed io siamo andati a vedere il match Benfica-Sporting (la prima cosa che me a detto quando é stato arrivato a Lisbona: «Voglio vedere il derby portoghese Benfica-Sporting!»).

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«We sat together in the first row of the presidential box at the Benfica stadium, alongside the usual assortment of ministers and diplomats and other VIPs. The match ended up a 1-1 tie, much to the dismay of Benfica supporters. Novak celebrated Miccoli’s goal with a lot of enthusiasm and, the next morning, Benfica sent a present for him: an official team shirt with his name and favorite number (4) on the back. I went over to the players lounge and, with Marian Vajda and Novak’s trainer, Ronen Bega, hung the red shirt on a nearby coat hook. When Novak joined us, he glanced it. A few moments later, he realized what it was, and that it was for him. He reacted like a kid on Christmas day.

I told Novak he could wear the shirt on court, before or after the match – since it was from his own sponsor, Adidas, it wouldn’t be a problem for him, and his picture would be everywhere. A couple of hours later, I saw him heading to the stadium with Igor Andreev; the red Benfica jersey was nowhere to be seen… but, right before walking on court, he stopped, took the shirt out of his bag, and put it on. The crowd in the stadium was sparse (he was first on, and it was lunch time) and they greeted him with a chorus of boos! I felt terrible, I should have realized the sociological realities at play: Benfica is the popular club, but tennis attracts a posh crowd, and they’re largely Sporting supporters.

Novak took it in stride, though, and he broke Igor Andreev right at the beginning of the match. We couldn’t forsee it, but from that break on until he clinched championship point, Novak performed like a veteran warrior. The conditions became — and stayed — extremely difficult: the wind was terrible, and it kept changing and swirling in different, unpredictable directions (click here for our video coverage of the tournament).

Igor Andreev, the last man on the planet to beat Rafa Nadal on clay, is getting back to form after a lengthy injury and, with his big, high-bouncing, “Made in Spain” topspin forehand (Andreev left Moscow while in his teens), he soon started dictating play; Nole hung tough, but expressed frustration over not being able to play more aggressively. He was a break down in the third and the match was decided by a couple of points in the tiebreak: leading 3-2, Andreev double-faulted and then Novak finished off a long, intense exchange with a drop volley. He grabbed the momentum right there and went on to win the match and celebrated as if he’d won the whole tournament.

And then… he put on the Benfica jersey again and waved. He was booed a bit more than cheered, and on his way out he gestured to his ear and looked at me, a bit puzzled – but Vajda told him not to worry, that he did OK — it’s just that it was a Sporting crowd.

One person who did appreciate Novak’s support was the Benfica striker, Italy’s Fabrizio Miccoli. He was there, and he signed the shirt in a photo-op that was all over the papers the following day!»
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L’esplosione del tennis serbo significa quanto un paese con poche risorse economiche possa ambire a grandi risultati in questo sport…sintomo ulteriore che in Italia ci sia qualcosa che non funziona a livello dirigenziale e tecnico-didattico.