Monte Carlo, in the end, remains the same: just look out the windows of the press room, fill your soul with a magnificently blue horizon, the transparent silhouette of Corsica down there while Sinner tries to win a double four or five floors below, on the central. One hundred and twenty-five years ago, in front of the same enchanted sea, but on fields that are no longer there, we would have admired the Doherty brothers. In short, the players change; but there are constants there too: those who win are almost always Spaniards.
In 2004 we witnessed here one of the first epiphanies of Rafa Nadal, still very Nino. He spoke very little, and even less in English; a magnificent imitation of Mowgli, according to Spanish colleague Neus Yerro. Today he is up to Carlito Alcaraz, who speaks English with great generosity (and few errors). He already has the manners of the landlord, the blue gaze of a movie star – in fact he would be interpreted by Leonardo Di Caprio – and the same education and fair play as his great ancestor. A little like how we look at our children, and we marvel at how experienced, fast, at ease in the world they are at an age when we played with Lima trains.
Rafa, who in the last 16 years has transformed into the champion and gentleman he already was, even under the guise of a wild boy, is not here this time, engaged in yet another careening of the long navigation. The revenge of the semi-final in Miami will therefore be missing, which Alcaraz was an inch away from his childhood idol. In the quarters, however, the blessing of the first clash between Carlito and Djokovic, the champion No Vax, who returns here after the sad Australian novel and the ban in the Americas, could arrive. He is in his 365th week from number 1, a huge record – still 14 and will beat Steffi Graf’s overall unisex one. Djokovic plays at home since he has lived in Monaco for ten years, but in three months he has only played three times. “I hope they become six in six months,” he tries to joke. “I probably won’t be at my best, I’m still warming up the engine. The goal is Roland Garros, but I will try to give my best in every tournament. The last four five months have been very tough, both physically and mentally, I’m trying to put them behind me. After all, I have always been, and still am, a very optimistic person ». Saying “positive” after the pandemic is no longer possible, there is a risk of misunderstanding, let alone in the case of him.
In France, however, the anti Covid measures are quite lax (“The mask in the press room? At your discretion ….”), so the Djoker for once will not be asked for the Green Pass. “I hope to be able to play in every tournament from now on, that’s how it is now here but also in almost all of Europe, I’m happy about it.” They then ask him about the divorce between Jannik Sinner and his former coach, Riccardo Piatti: “I don’t know why (watch your nose, Nole, ed) but obviously he surprised me, because it was Riccardo who brought him into the top 10, all of them she got her best results with him. But he’s a grown man now, I think he knows what he does. ” Panta rei, everything flows, in front of the immutable blue of this sea.