In Melbourne 'Little Italy' dreams big. Bolelli-Vavassori in the final, now it's Sinner's turn

There is a small Italy in the Other World with at least 280 thousand reasons to cheer Sinner and the fabulous doubles pair Bolelli-Vavassori. Many are the descendants of Italians who have found a home in Melbourne, the city of the Slam that stands out in the world with the great concentration of Italian restaurants. Here we go again, for a year now we have been cheering more and more for the Azzurri and we have been talking more and more about lasagne, carbonara and tortellini. Bole and Wave – just to stay on topic – are already back for an encore, with the desire to go further. Yes, just like in 2024 they reached their final at the Australian Open, beating Goransson and Verbeek 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 with a fabulous comeback. Jannik will try today at 9,30 Italian time against Ben Shelton (live on Sky and Dazn).

The land of kangaroos seems to bring good luck to our colours. Sonego's first Slam quarters, now Bole and Wave repeating themselves, and a Sinner physically recovered after the illness that struck him during the challenge with Rune. The magic doubles have already said a few days ago that they want to imitate the 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria and take the top spot in the ATP rankings (pairs). For them it is the third Slam final, with the major cup just missed: "Last year it was a totally unexpected final. We were 50 in the world and we risked exiting the tournament immediately. It was very emotional and we were not able to manage the difficulties we had in managing the wait. This time we will certainly be more ready". Waiting for them tomorrow is the number 6 seeded pair Heliovaara-Patten. Meanwhile also Jannik shows that he doesn't want to leave anything to chance. Indoor training to test a possible closing of the roof (in Melbourne the weather is playing tricks) but above all a partner for exchanges chosen ad hoc. The Italian - having put the virus that caused him headaches and stomach problems behind him - took to the court with Alex Bolt, a 32-year-old Australian who went out in the first round in Melbourne but above all a left-handed player like the American, to test narrow trait and serves with anomalous rotations. The work culture of Sinner challenges the unpredictable chaos of Shelton, and, even if the odds for a victory of the Slam champion are practically ground zero, it is a match with a not so obvious outcome, precisely because of the peaks of play that the terrible American is capable of producing.