More than the revolution that the changes of Gerard Pique and his collaborators, the magic of Davis cup it still maintains the romantic space for almost improbable stories and unknown tennis players.
Far from the spotlights and millions flooded the great stars, Domenico Vicinia man from San Marino who has never entered the individual world rankings, although he can give himself the satisfaction of saying that he holds two historical records in the competition: at the age of 50 years and 11 months he became the oldest player to won a match of the ‘salad bowl’ and starting this Friday he was the first to participate in 100 eliminatory rounds.
“It’s a pleasure to play again this year for the Davis Cup team. Having 100 ties is a great achievement for me. It’s been a long journey, I’ve seen a lot of things, living all the journeys , all the games,” he said. Vicini on the Davis Cup website.
“It’s a big thing and, honestly, I don’t know when I’ll stop. I’ll keep playing as long as I can. The motivation that drives me is the passion for tennis and competing for my country,” adds Domenico , who has also been the captain since 2008.
San Marino play this week in Baku (Azerbaijan) the qualifiers of European Group IV, the final division of the Davis Cup. Vicini and his partner Mark De Rossi won on Wednesday in doubles Martin Moedini Y mario zili 6-3 and 7-6 (3) to round off the 3-0 match AlbanianDominico’s 99th tie.
Vicini is ‘centenarian’ as of this Friday after playing doubles again, this time with Simone DeLuigi: lost against Rafn Bonifacius Y Daniel Siddall (6-2, 6-3), but San Marino already got the victory over Iceland after the singles (2-1) and promotion to Group III will be held this Saturday against Azerbaijan, which will be a good end to a good week. of Vicini.
“For us, it is important to have a tennis player like him in the team, who has been playing for a long time. He is almost 51 years old, he is still playing and he can teach us a lot, he will share his experience. is the lion of team, and the lion is still alive”, commented De Rossi, 25, the only San Marino present in the ATP ranking, in 1,118th position with five points. In doubles it is the 1,356th.
San Marino is one of the smallest countries in the world, just 61 square kilometers, a landlocked enclave in northern Italy with approximately 33,500 inhabitants. Vicini has been contributing his grain of sand to his sporting history ever since he fell in love with tennis at the age of four during a camping holiday with his family.
San Marino debuted in the Davis Cup in 1993 with Vicini as one of the team members: he already got the first point in the country’s history by defeating the Slovenian. Blaz Trupej, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. That in his 29 years of ‘salad bowl’ select his victory in 1996 against the Senegalese About Berthe -6-7 (4), 7-6 (6) and 13-11- as the most outstanding moment of his career already indicates the parameters of mediocre tennis. Be that as it may, for him that triumph, at his level, resembled any act of Rafael Nadal to the elite.
In total, Vicini played 143 Davis Cup matches, 76 in singles with a positive record (47-29) and 67 in doubles with a negative record (18-49) for a total of 65 wins and 78 losses. However, the man from San Marino had a world ranking in doubles (652nd in 2009 as a particular peak), something he never achieved in singles. The ATP is giving him $1,670 in prize money.
In Games of small states of europeVicini won four silvers and three bronzes between 1997 and 2011. Today, despite his modest track record, no one can argue with him that he occupies a great place in the history of the Davis Cup.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
