In the tunnel, the players limber up, then Sinner leads off as they walk towards court. The anticipation is painful, but here we go….
We’ve got three lads singing it, but let’s be real, this isn’t best experienced with soft, tuneful voices; it needs volume, numbers and aggression.
Time for the Italian anthem. Tuuuuuune!
An exciting variable tonight: Sinner is playing at home. The Turin crowd will be partial in the extreme, the atmosphere steaming, and much as I’m sure Alcaraz can handle it, he’s not used to it.
The problem Alcaraz has, specifically on this surface, is Sinner’s serve; the return is taken out of the equation so often it’s almost impossible to create a breaking opportunity. I’d not be surprised to see three tiebreakers tonight, because Alcaraz is serving well too and, in New York, produced perhaps the best performance of his career in that aspect.
