I presented the 29th Internationals of tennis
The profound meaning of an event born in 1998 was underscored by the “landlord” Christian Forcellini. “After a pause of six years due to various vicissitudes, thanks to the stubbornness of the Federation and the proximity of Cons and institutions, we are able to bring the Internationals back to the calendar – said the president of the San Marino Tennis Federation -. Not only a sporting event but also a tourist event as it involves all the accommodation facilities in the area. And above all an event entirely San Marino, for the workers and services involved, therefore a heritage for the country, and I am proud of this. If last year we had to deal with some restrictions due to the pandemic, we will try to make an effort to ensure that the thirtieth edition, in 2023, is remembered, also considering the corrections made by the ATP to prize pools and organizational aspects. . In addition to the institutions, it is a duty to the sponsors who, with their support, make this event possible “.
The director of the tournament Alessandro Costa went into the technical aspects. “We have nine players in the top 200 in the world, in line with other tournaments in this category. At the top of the entry list stands the name of the Spaniard Carlos Taberner, a specialist in this surface as stated in the 5 challenger titles won on red – Costa wanted – and on the hunt for an acute to be among the top 100 in the world rankings, he who has a best ranking of 85. I would like to point out the welcome return of Marco Cecchinato, who won his first major title in San Marino in 2013, taking off for a career that saw him reach a historic semifinal at Roland Garros in 2018, putting three ATP titles on the board. clay and reach a best ranking from number 16. Another former winner is the Dutch Robin Haase, who scored in 2010. And then there are the Azzurri Next Gen: Giulio Zeppieri, who less than two weeks ago was the protagonist of the ATP tournament in Umag reaching the semifinals from qualifying and holding up for three hours to the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, n.4 in the world; Luca Nardi from Pesaro, born in 2003, in continuous growth, this year’s winner of the Challengers of Forlì and Lugano, and Matteo Arnaldi. The other Italians admitted in the ranking are Lorenzo Giustino and Federico Gaio. To these are added thanks to as many jokers Flavio Cobolli and Mattia Bellucci, while to formalize the third invitation for the main draw we wait until the draw. In the qualifiers, for now, the wild cards have been assigned to the San Marino davisman Marco De Rossi, to the Rimini Manuel Mazza, revelation of the last edition, and to Stefano Napolitano, with a fourth still to be decided ”.