Gazzetta Sports Awards: Sinner, Davis Cup Italy and Bagnaia will be awarded

This time it will be the sun of Naples that will kiss the sports stars. The champions of champions of another fabulous season for Italy and beyond will be at sea to scan the horizons of other glorious ventures: the Gazzetta Sports Awards show is now in its ninth year and will actually be celebrated on the ship MSC Fantasia on Wednesday , December 6th, broadcast by Gazzetta.it and La7 late in the evening of December 16th.

As always, the awards presented by our newspaper will photograph a magical year and reward the heroes among the heroes. While we wait to find out who will win in the other categories, we can anticipate the winners of the Heroics of the Year category, which brings together Davis’ Italy, a fantastic team that will make us relive emotions of almost fifty years old, with Pecco Bagnaia, the MotoGP champion, capable of holding his own in a sport linked to the subtle balances of extreme speed.

all for one

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Jannik Sinner, the soul of the team that brought the Davis Cup back to Italy after 47 years, always preached patience. The Red Fox’s singles season was excellent, at the top, reaching No. 4 in the rankings, the first Masters 1000 in his career and the final act of the ATP Finals, but in the games worth winning He reached heavenly heights at the famous Salad Bowl, winning three matches in singles, two in doubles and, most notably, beating world number one Djokovic in the semi-finals, erasing three match points in a row. After the long wave of their leader’s exploits, the comrades were ready with a mix of enthusiasm and talent that ultimately drew the passion of an entire country into the victorious adventure. In doubles, Sonego, despite not being at 100% physically, was Sinner’s trusted squire, and their technical complicity, cemented by their friendship off the field, represented a fundamental advantage in a specialty in which the opponents were the most The evening before, US seemed to be objectively one step further.

And how can we forget the courage of Matteo Arnaldi, who was able to overcome the defeat in the debut game against the Netherlands and a delicate moment in the family to win the first crucial point in the final against Australia? Musetti lost his singles match against Serbia, but he has the qualities to be one of the frontrunners in the coming years and the advice of the “old” Bolelli represents the wise guide. Above all, captain Volandri, who has built a group, ” who is a family”, and whose cohesion and class will not make us wait another 47 years to win the coveted silver trophy.

mental strength

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Bagnaia was the reigning champion who, as neither Valentino Rossi nor Marc Marquez had done before him, had put aside his magic number 63 to choose the number 1 that characterizes the champions, as Giacomo did with Agostini, Mick Doohan, Jorge Lorenzo or Casey Stoner. But if this number is an honor, it is also a burden, an additional burden of responsibility that one inevitably has to think about in certain moments, especially when things are not going well. Bagnaia had to win, Ducati told him, the fans demanded it, and if he had an almost overwhelming superiority at the beginning, it was precisely in the difficult moment that his greatness and completeness as a rider became apparent. “I discovered that I’m much stronger mentally than I thought,” said Pecco the day after the big performance in Valencia.

Well, if there’s one way to explain this Exploit of the Year award that Pecco will share with the Italian slugger, it’s precisely his immense mental strength that got him back in the saddle, twice with a distance of 48 hours, in Misano Adriatico, just six days after the dramatic accident in Barcelona, ​​​​which could have had very serious consequences. This led to him fending off every attack from Jorge Martin, who had already started to score important points in the race in Spain. This meant he won in Indonesia from 13th on the grid, giving the Pramac driver just 23 hours and 59 minutes of the illusion of leading the world championship. That in Valencia, in the last race, in Spain, on a track where the former teammate in Moto3 was always very strong in the Mahindra era, after suffering in the decisive appointment on Saturday in the classic with the rival bearer of warlike dreams That first led to the mistake and then ensured that by winning the race he secured his second MotoGP world title, the third of his career. Which is the best path to apotheosis for an athlete. Someone like that needs to be held.

The Gazzetta Sports Awards are created in collaboration with key corporate and institutional partners. In this ninth edition, the winners of the respective categories will also receive the ring designed by Maison Damiani as a prize. MSC Cruises is the main partner and host of the event on board the ship MSC Fantasia. Dr Automobiles Groupe and UnipolSai (sponsor of the Exploit of the Year awards) are premium partners. Santa Margherita is a Sparkling Partner. Pastificio Felicetti, Riflessi, Vanini and EdiliziAcrobatica are partners. The event takes place under the patronage of the Municipality of Naples.