Andy Roddick has praised the Italian tennis team for winning gold and bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, despite the absence of their star player, Jannik Sinner. The World No. 1 had to withdraw from the event due to tonsillitis.
While Italy’s chances of winning medals at the Paris Olympics were certainly impacted by Sinner not competing, the team’s strength still shone through. Jasmine Paolini, Sara Errani, and Lorenzo Musetti led their country to medal glory.
Paolini and Errani teamed up for doubles and triumphed over New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Lulu Sun, France’s Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry, Great Britain’s Katie Boulter and Heather Watson, the Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova, and finally, Russia’s (AITA) Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider in the final to win the gold medal.
Meanwhile, Musetti defeated Frenchman Gael Monfils, Argentina’s Mariano Navone, the USA’s Taylor Fritz, and Germany’s Alexander Zverev before losing to eventual gold medalist Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. However, the Italian made a strong comeback in the bronze medal match, defeating Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Many were impressed by Italy’s performance, including Andy Roddick. The former US Open champion lauded the medal winners on the latest episode of his ‘Served with Andy Roddick’ podcast for carrying the team forward without Jannik Sinner.
