Former Australian Open tournament director Paul McNamee suggests the Italian public absolutely expected Jannik Sinner to play in the Davis Cup after heavily supporting him during the doping saga, and that's why the world No. 2 is now facing major criticism and backlash in his country.
Before kicking off his campaign at this week's ATP 500 tournament in Vienna, Sinner announced he was pulling out of the Davis Cup Final 8 event, which is slated to take place between November 18-23 in Bologna. Needless to say, it was a brutal hit for the Italian team and their chances of completing a Davis Cup three-peat.
Sinner described his his decision as "a difficult choice" before explaining his move by stating that "the season was too long" and that he "needed an extra week off." However, his explanation didn't help him avoid criticism, nor from the public or Italian tennis legends.
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"I don't understand when he mentions a difficult choice. He has to play tennis, not go to war," former two-time French Open champion Pietrangeli bluntly stated to Italian media.
McNamee: I suspect the Italians felt Sinner going on his national duty would have been the right thing to do
"Many Italian journalists, and the Italian public, fiercely loyal to Sinner during the doping crisis, are suddenly not as sympathetic about his decision to bypass the Davis Cup Finals. I suspect they felt his going on national duty this year would have been the right thing to do," McNamee wrote on X.
McNamee's argument definitely makes sense as it is not a secret that the four-time Grand Slam champion was heavily defended by the Italian media and public throughout his entire doping case.
