Jannik Sinner's decision to skip the Davis Cup Finals left one Italian tennis great enraged as Nicola Pietrangeli ripped the 24-year-old's move by bluntly telling the world No. 2 that representing his nation should be his "top priority."
Two days after winning the star-studded Six Kings Slam exhibition in Riyadh and pocketing $6 million, Sinner - who is competing at the ATP 500 tournament in Vienna this week - announced that he would not be representing Italy at the Davis Cup Finals between November 18-23. When announcing the decision, the four-time Grand Slam champion noted that he won back-to-back Davis Cup titles with Italy in the last two years, and also said that he wanted to be fully fresh for the Australian Open
Ive won the Davis Cup twice. My team and I made this decision because the end of the season is very long, and I need an extra week off to start training earlier," the former No. 1 said in a statement.
Pietrangeli rips tennis: You have to play, not go to war
"It's an affront to Italian sports. I don't understand when he mentions a difficult choice. He has to play tennis, not go to war. When it comes to the Davis Cup, I get annoyed because a player's objective should be to wear the Italian jersey. But unfortunately, I'm speaking from another era. I hope he won't go play elsewhere during the Davis Cup. Today, the world is filled with money and we're leaving heart aside," Pietrangeli told Italian media.
Pietrangeli, 92, won back-to-back French Open titles in 1959 and 1990. Also, he represented Italy in 1960 and 1961 when his nation finished as back-to-back Davis Cup runner-up.
Meanwhile, when Sinner led Italy to the 2023 Davis Cup title, it was his nation's first title in the competition since 1976. After repeating as champion last year, Italy improved to three Davis Cup titles.
