Italy is a country where two sports rule the roost – Soccer and tennis. So when the two come together, it makes for great viewing. Tennis stars Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini provided fans just that with an Instagram video that has gone viral on the internet, in which both the players were seen playing soccer with each other during their free time.
In a rare instance, two Italian men’s tennis players have been pitted against each other in the Round of 64 at the Wimbledon 2024 championships. Sinner and Berrettini know each other too well, which is why their bonding even before such a vital match, does not come as a surprise.
Interestingly, their match comes days after Italy, the defending champions of the European Championships, were knocked out early of the Euro 2024 in Germany, by Switzerland. Naturally, Italian fans are a disappointed bunch but they were happy to see Sinner, Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli show off their soccer skills.
They were seen standing in a mini-circle and doing some tricks before passing the ball to each other. Here is how some fans reacted to the video –
Myself being a soccer fan, this is one of the cutest scenes for pre games at Wimbledon.
— Yusuf Suveyke (@SuveykeYusuf) July 2, 2024
better then the italian football team
— MarcelloGiannangeli (@Marcgiannangeli) July 2, 2024
Squadra Azzura missed them so much
— Pagistral (@Pagistral1) July 2, 2024
They were sorely missed in Germany.
— søren h. lorenzen (@shlorenzen) July 2, 2024
Fans were having fun with the fact that while the Italian soccer team is not in the running to become champions of Europe again, these tennis players could have played instead of them. In the end, this just shows the bond Sinner shares with his senior, Berrettini and how much they are loved in their country as well.
Both Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini are at interesting phases of their careers at the moment. While Berrettini is aiming to make a comeback from a devastating injury, Sinner is now the world’s top-ranked player who will be the favorite to win their clash.
Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner have faced each other only once before. It was at the 2023 ATP Masters 1000 Canada Round of 32, where Sinner won 6-4, 6-3.
Ahead of their Wimbledon 2024 clash, Sinner spoke about Berrettini’s game plan and confidence in a pre-match press conference. He said that Berrettini’s experience of playing the Wimbledon 2021 final shows that he is capable of playing well on grass, so that will not make it easy one bit for him. The World No.1 is looking forward to the challenge.
Tennis fans in the US can watch the match on Wednesday on ESPN and ESPN+. They can also stream the match live on Hulu and FuboTV. It will start at 11:45 am Eastern Standard Time.
