The tennis news (but not only) of the week: Sinner triumphs, Max Biaggi as well

We Are Tennis by BNP Paribas brings you the best of the past week, on but also off the courts. A week where Sinner won his first ATP Tour title at Sofia, Max Biaggi broke speed records, and Sabalenka won the Linz Open.

Monday, November 9th

Here’s a question for the start of this week: who is the quickest between Jonáš Forejtek, Daniil Medvedev and a Lamborghini? Here are a few clues: the first knocked out Marin Cilic at only 19 years of age, and being ranked 399th at the ATP ranking, the second took over Roger Federer and is now the world number 4, and the last one enabled the Italian police to deliver a kidney to a patient in time. Going at 230 km/h. Yes, that’s fast.

Tuesday, November 10th

One day, two informations. One was good news, and the other one wasn’t so nice. Félix Auger-Aliassime and Bianca Andreescu announced the first one themselves, as they actively contributed to the Canadian tennis federation’s call for donations. On its side, McDonald’s was responsible for the bad news as they served a bag of fries which was filled with cockroaches in Nice (South of France.) Bon appétit!

Wednesday, November 11th

A Wednesday spent in the water. In Finistère (Brittany), surfers decided to get around the lockdown rules to go and ride (second) waves armed with medical certificates stating that « the practice of a water sport is necessary to keep a psychological balance ». The same thing happened in Heraklion (Greece), where Petros Tsitsipas (Stefanos’ brother) had to practice on a flooded court during an ITF 15k tournament. Careful, watch the tide!

Thursday, November 12th

« She couldn’t warm up before the final. Every time she hit a forehand, she would cry. If you’re not able to warm up, you can’t play a match. She told me: ‘No, wait. You have to understand, I can’t warm up, but I can play, and I’m going to do it.’ I was very surprised, and I didn’t notice anything wrong during the final, she didn’t show any sign of pain ». According to her coach, Emmanuel Planque, Fiona Ferro won the title in Palermo last August with a broken rib. On his side, Max Biaggi showed the world that he was a little crazy as he broke the speed record on an electrical motorbike on an airport landing strip. 408 km/h, that’s almost twice the speed of the Lamborghini.

Friday, November 13th

You’d think that he’s already a role model, at only 20 years old. As after having become the youngest player to ever reach an ATP final (in Stuttgart, in June 2019, at only 18 and ten months), Félix Auger-Aliassime saw Jannik Sinner trying to copy him. Unfortunately for the Italian, who qualified for the final in Sofia, he already celebrated his 19th birthday last August. Making him the second most precocious tennis player after the Canadian. Even more incredible, a young woman named Sabrina wanted to enter into a civil partnership, in Haute-Loire, France, before realizing that she couldn’t… as she was already married to her brother-in-law, according to his marriage certificate ! The explanation? The city council wrote down the wrong identity at the time, as they mistook her for her twin sister !

Saturday, November 14th

We don’t know yet if Sinner will become as huge as this giant alligator which was spotted in Florida on a golf course. Still, he managed to lift the first real ATP Tour trophy of his career at Sofia, after triumphing at the Next Generation ATP Finals, becoming to first tennis player born after the year 2000 to win a trophy. He surely has the appetite of a crocodile, and the ambition of a reptile. Enough for Novak Djokovic to produce a « ronaldesque » celebration.

Sunday, November 15th

As it is Sunday, the Cahors diocese (France), decided to launch stay-at-home pilgrimages with « praying kits ». Not interesting enough for Aryna Sabalenka, who didn’t need to ask any God to lift a trophy as she triumphed in Linz. Because she’s the true WTA goddess.