Speaker 1: Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Sitdown.
Speaker 1: I'm Mattrolope from Ozopen dot com and I'm.
Speaker 2: Viv Christy from Australian Tennis magazine and Matt. This week
Speaker 2: we are talking to Pallo Lorenzi, who has a big
Speaker 2: job right now as tournament director of the Italian Open
Speaker 2: in Rome.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he does. And this is a player who only
Speaker 1: recently retired himself. He was a former world number thirty
Speaker 1: three who played his last match in twenty twenty one,
Speaker 1: and he stayed very connected with Italian tennis. This is
Speaker 1: a man who told us that he warmed up Mateo
Speaker 1: Berettini before the Wimbledon final in twenty twenty one. And
Speaker 1: he's also i think played doubles and trained with Yanix Sinner.
Speaker 1: And he told our colleague Gerson Caderus, who he chatted
Speaker 1: to on the ground in Rome, just exactly the impact
Speaker 1: that Yanick Sinner is having on tennis in Italy. His
Speaker 1: rise to the top of men's tennis. He's Australian Open
Speaker 1: victory has had a massive flow on effect for tennis
Speaker 1: in the country and has led to like a surge
Speaker 1: in interest. So it was really cool to kind of
Speaker 1: get his insights about how that's how that's impacting the
Speaker 1: tournament in Rome.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and Italian tennis, I mean, what a great place
Speaker 2: it's in. Not only have you got Sinner doing so well,
Speaker 2: but there's nine Italian men and five Italian women inside
Speaker 2: the world's top one hundred, so exciting times ahead.
Speaker 1: They're the Davis Cup champions, that the Billy jing Kin
Speaker 1: Cup finalists. And one thing that I thought was interesting
Speaker 1: he said too, was of those Italian men in the
Speaker 1: top one hundred, the majority of them are twenty three
Speaker 1: or under. So you know it means the features bright
Speaker 1: for Italian tennis.
Speaker 2: It certainly is. Let's hear what he has to say.
Speaker 3: Okay, I want to start from the beginning.
Speaker 4: When I was seven eight years old, every year I'm
Speaker 4: from Senna in Toscany, I took the bus with all
Speaker 4: the tennis school and I came in.
Speaker 3: Here to watch all the players.
Speaker 4: And this is for I think almost every tennis player
Speaker 4: in Italy, every kids that's playing tennis, is usually when
Speaker 4: it's wrong time, you're gonna take the bus and it's
Speaker 4: gonna come to watch tennis. And I think this is
Speaker 4: the first step that brings you you to dream to
Speaker 4: become a tennis player. And that's why I think it's
Speaker 4: for the federation, but for everyone this tournament is so important.
Speaker 5: And what were your dreams back then?
Speaker 4: Of course, on the day I was my dream was
Speaker 4: to become number one in the world. Then you start
Speaker 4: playing your tournaments when you are under twelve and fourteen
Speaker 4: and your dream has become, of course, to be number one.
Speaker 4: But then you know, okay, maybe one day I want
Speaker 4: to play the future. Then I want to play a challenge,
Speaker 4: and then I want to play a TP and then
Speaker 4: you try your best.
Speaker 3: But I think this is the first step, is this
Speaker 3: tournament to room. And I think that what is shame.
Speaker 4: What is the big difference of Rome and of this
Speaker 4: tournament and about the other one thousand is the kids.
Speaker 4: I don't know if you walk a way around, but
Speaker 4: at the end of this tournament, we're going to have
Speaker 4: fifty five thousand kids only for these twelve days. And
Speaker 4: the Federation always start bringing a lot of kids. And
Speaker 4: this is the first step. And then this is the
Speaker 4: first step. The last step is the nex sinner.
Speaker 5: The last step is onix ciner.
Speaker 6: So is this part of the success because you bring
Speaker 6: in so many kids that maybe wouldn't normally be exposed
Speaker 6: to tennis.
Speaker 3: I think that this is the part.
Speaker 4: The other one is that in the last twenty twenty
Speaker 4: five years, because I remember was the beginning of Andress
Speaker 4: Spy career, we started to have a lot of challenger
Speaker 4: and future Italy. In one moment, if you were watching calendar,
Speaker 4: we had twenty five challenger and more than three future.
Speaker 4: So what this one doesn't mean that every week you're
Speaker 4: going to have wild car for Italian players that they
Speaker 4: can play this tournament also if they don't have the ranking.
Speaker 4: But it's not only them, they're going to bring the coach,
Speaker 4: and the coach they can watch and talk with other
Speaker 4: coaches from other countries.
Speaker 3: So they're going to improve.
Speaker 4: And after twenty years, that's why now the Italian Federation
Speaker 4: have so many good coaches and so many good players.
Speaker 5: Wow, and where do you want to go from here?
Speaker 3: Why? If you ask me, I think.
Speaker 4: This is the beginning because we have of course one
Speaker 4: player on the top ten, but three four years ago
Speaker 4: we had also very tiny If you watch right now
Speaker 4: we have Musetti, we have Analdi, we have Cobli, we
Speaker 4: have Nardi. All these players one hundred twenty three years old,
Speaker 4: so we don't know where they're going to go. I
Speaker 4: think that we're going to have another ten twelve years
Speaker 4: and then the goal is to bring more of them
Speaker 4: and maybe in ten years, fifteen years, we're going to
Speaker 4: have I don't know, ten players to fifty why not.
Speaker 5: Wow, that's a big goal.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I know, But.
Speaker 4: I think that you have to dream big because if
Speaker 4: you dream big, then at the end you're going to
Speaker 4: have something. And I think that this work, like I said,
Speaker 4: started from the federation twenty years ago. I'm not saying
Speaker 4: that it's just started. I'm saying that this process is
Speaker 4: a long process. Day basis are big, so that's why
Speaker 4: I think we can we can have a lot of results.
Speaker 5: What role does the singer play in this whole development?
Speaker 4: Now, in this moment is the most important roles because
Speaker 4: it's the example for the new generation, for the players
Speaker 4: that they are good and they want to become even better.
Speaker 4: And everyone in Italy is watching Ciner So to be
Speaker 4: an example and to be young is not easy, but
Speaker 4: I think the Yannick Kiss is the right person to
Speaker 4: do that.
Speaker 5: And how do you see that in excitement? In numbers?
Speaker 5: For example, how do you see it.
Speaker 3: In numbers right now, if.
Speaker 4: You see in the audience, a Yani Ciner match is
Speaker 4: like a football match in Italy, and this honey is
Speaker 4: almost never happened in the last three years, and and
Speaker 4: Sena is playing, you have the live score. Whatever in
Speaker 4: ever is the new side in Italy Online everyone is
Speaker 4: talking about if you I don't know, if you walk
Speaker 4: in the street, they're talking why Sina is not down
Speaker 4: number one? How many points he needs? Now everyone is
Speaker 4: talking about tennis. So I think that can bring a
Speaker 4: lot more in the in the tennis in Italy.
Speaker 5: So is it almost competing with football?
Speaker 4: I think that Siner right now maybe can be better
Speaker 4: than football because I think right now is the most
Speaker 4: famous spotsman in Italy. It's like Tomba a few years
Speaker 4: ago or Valentino Rossi.
Speaker 6: As a tennis administrator and as tournament director. Do you
Speaker 6: think players or former players make the best administrators in tennis.
Speaker 4: I don't think so, because if you think that only
Speaker 4: the format tennis player can do some things, I don't
Speaker 4: think is right.
Speaker 3: Season. I think that they know tennis, they know.
Speaker 4: A little bit better how to run a tournament because
Speaker 4: they can speak with the players, they know what they need,
Speaker 4: so they have an advantage. I'm not saying that they're
Speaker 4: the only one that they can do that, but I'm
Speaker 4: sure they have advantage.
Speaker 6: Now look at the money side of things. This whole excitement,
Speaker 6: this golden era of Italian tennis, has it also brought
Speaker 6: in more money?
Speaker 4: Yes, now there are full show most sponsor. Everyone was
Speaker 4: want to be involved in tennis because of course everyone
Speaker 4: is talking about tennis. We just want the Davis Cup
Speaker 4: we made finally in belishing cups, so this must bring
Speaker 4: a sponsor and a lot of people. I think that
Speaker 4: everyone is becoming concentrated on the goal, and the goal
Speaker 4: is to have always top players, because the top players
Speaker 4: bring you more kids and then you have a big base,
Speaker 4: then you're going to have more plays for the future.
Speaker 6: So do you get more requests for tournament sponsors right now?
Speaker 5: Yes?
Speaker 4: We have ry that this most important tennis channel in Italy,
Speaker 4: they are coming back.
Speaker 3: To put them m on TV again.
Speaker 4: Sponsors want to be part of the wrong tournament, but
Speaker 4: they want to be part of the Devis Cup team
Speaker 4: and all these kind of things. So this of course
Speaker 4: is going to help us, but we need to remain
Speaker 4: focused on the goal.
Speaker 5: Does that also mean the tournament will grow.
Speaker 4: Of course, our goal is to grow. The numbers are crazy.
Speaker 4: People want wants to come here, and we are selling
Speaker 4: more tickets and so of course the tournament has grown.
Speaker 3: I don't know what we can.
Speaker 4: Do better than you every year, but our goal is
Speaker 4: to be a better tourn How about a roof, and
Speaker 4: the roof is I think our most important goal for
Speaker 4: the next years. This is in historical place, so it's
Speaker 4: not easy to change things. They already give us the
Speaker 4: permission to do the roof, but of course you saw
Speaker 4: the petrent records. Everything is sold and historical, so we
Speaker 4: need to have a little bit more permission.
Speaker 3: But I think in the next few years the roof.
Speaker 5: Is going to be ready.
Speaker 6: What about the federation setting up its own tennis channel
Speaker 6: on TV. When did this start and how is this
Speaker 6: part of the success?
Speaker 7: Maybe as well, but this is a big part of
Speaker 7: the success is we have tennis sun is more than
Speaker 7: fifteen years and was the first time that we in
Speaker 7: the last twenty years, we brought tennis on TV on NORMATIV,
Speaker 7: so we brought tennis to all the families in Italy.
Speaker 4: So you are home and you can watch tennis I
Speaker 4: think that that's a big change because you can follow
Speaker 4: your top players. You can follow tennis men's and women,
Speaker 4: and I think that is changing slowly, but it changed
Speaker 4: the things. So if you ask me, the first three
Speaker 4: things are a lot of kids, the tennis channel and
Speaker 4: a lot of tournaments. That was the key for the
Speaker 4: grown of the tennis in Italy.
Speaker 5: And Super Tennis is free TV.
Speaker 4: This is free TV, and this is one of the
Speaker 4: most important thing because think everyone can watch tennis on
Speaker 4: Super Tennis all day, twenty four hours a.
Speaker 5: Day, and it is a purely federation investment. Is it
Speaker 5: owned by the federation?
Speaker 3: Is owned by the federation.
Speaker 4: Right now you have free all the Challenger, you had
Speaker 4: big tournaments, you have the US Open.
Speaker 3: So I think that all these matches you can watch
Speaker 3: for fair.
Speaker 6: Wow, that's fantastic. Just got a couple more. Is there
Speaker 6: an Italian way of playing tennis?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 4: And I think that at the beginning, like when I
Speaker 4: was starting to play pro, that was a key moment
Speaker 4: because we were watching Spain or other country like the
Speaker 4: United States, that all the players that were to say
Speaker 4: similar because in the States you serve used four and
Speaker 4: in Spain that was trying to use a lot of spin.
Speaker 4: The Italian Federation. No, we don't have like we have
Speaker 4: a school, but not that we have to follow some rules.
Speaker 4: And then I think it's why we have seen it
Speaker 4: that is playing like this. Then we have Lorenzo Musset
Speaker 4: with one end back, and then we have I don't
Speaker 4: know Cobli that is a fighter, and then every player
Speaker 4: is different.
Speaker 3: And I think also this when it's helping us a lot.
Speaker 6: And you practiced with Singer and Pertini quite a few times, right.
Speaker 4: Right, We were jogging right now because I warm up
Speaker 4: better till before the finally Winbledon. So it enjoyed the
Speaker 4: lost because it was my fault, I hope, not because
Speaker 4: I always told him that he won the first set
Speaker 4: and it was because he practiced with me.
Speaker 5: What's Sinner blaming you for anything? Siner? Is he blaming
Speaker 5: you for anything as well?
Speaker 4: Okay, the first time that it made semi in ATP
Speaker 4: to fifteen, Anthweb, we played doubles together and we made semis.
Speaker 3: So I think also you have to thanks me a
Speaker 3: lot for this.
Speaker 5: So who was better in practice?
Speaker 4: I have to say that they are completely different players
Speaker 4: because very tiny you, serf. Sometimes I'm telling you you
Speaker 4: know where you're gonna serve, but you can return. And
Speaker 4: then you have seen the intensity when it was already
Speaker 4: sixteen seventeen years old. The intensity that he put on
Speaker 4: courts was unbelilable. It was so focused.
Speaker 3: And so this is why, now who would be the
Speaker 3: next number one of the world.
Speaker 2: So Yannick Sinner as the world number one player, Well
Speaker 2: that could prediction could come true as soon as Roland
Speaker 2: Garros with Novak Djokovic defending lots of points as defending
Speaker 2: champion and yes, Sinna with a great opportunity.
Speaker 1: There absolutely and I mean we're talking about Novak Djokovic,
Speaker 1: the most dominant number one in tennis history and took
Speaker 1: a back of Carlos Elcarez last year and has held
Speaker 1: on to it ever since. He's been number one for
Speaker 1: well over four hundred weeks. So to have a torch
Speaker 1: passing moment potentially as soon as Roland Garros with Yanick
Speaker 1: Sinner taking it over, that's a pretty interesting plot line.
Speaker 2: So we'll be back next week with another episode of
Speaker 2: the sit Down. When we talked to Francesca Schiavoni, a
Speaker 2: former Roland Garros champion and a legend another legend of
Speaker 2: Italian tennis.
Speaker 1: You can listen to John and the team in the
Speaker 1: meantime this Thursday on the AO Show. Weekly and details
Speaker 1: for how to contact Vive and I are in the
Speaker 1: show notes below. As always, play, subscribe, rate and review.
Speaker 1: We'll see you next week, Viv.
Speaker 2: Look forward to it. Matt Hey