Jannik Sinner swiftly shut down Clare Balding when she mentioned the World Cup during a live interview at Wimbledon. The defending champion secured his spot in the semi-finals with a commanding straight-sets win over Jan-Lennard Struff, before sitting down with the BBC for a post-match discussion.
Sinner Halts Balding's Football Talk
The world No. 1 spoke about his tennis and his friendship with fellow Italian Flavio Cobolli, the ninth seed, who is set to face Britain's Arthur Fery in Wednesday's quarter-final. However, he promptly halted Balding when she raised the subject of football, stating: "Don't talk about football", given Italy's absence from this year's World Cup.
Sinner disclosed that he had been following British wildcard Fery's impressive run at the tournament, referencing his five-set comeback wins against Grigor Dimitrov and Zizoi Bergs. "You are genuinely watching every match, aren't you? So presumably, you're going to watch Djokovic against Auger-Aliassime?" Balding asked. "I like to watch. I am a big tennis fan and also part-time tennis player! But no, I think it's nice. I like to watch. Also, because here, you switch on the TV, it's only about Wimbledon," the four-time Major champion explained.
Balding Apologises After Sinner's Interjection
"You're right. You're absolutely right. Unless it's about football. That's big too," the BBC presenter remarked. But Sinner wasn't having any of it. "Don't talk about football, thank you," he interjected, prompting Balding to apologise. The top seed also playfully attempted to brush aside the fact that Cobolli would be facing a British player on Wednesday.
"I love Flavio as well and I love watching him, but he is playing Arthur Fery. On the BBC, we're quite behind our Arthur," Balding pointed out. "Yeah, and?" Sinner quipped, before heaping praise on the world No. 114, saying: "We know that [the crowd is behind Fery], we accept it. But he had an amazing win, huh? We were watching yesterday, it was nice. Tough one for Grigor, but it's a nice story. He was down with Zizou, he played here on Court 18, no? And a couple of times, double-break down, fourth and fifth. Finding himself in the quarters of Wimbledon, it's truly special."
Sinner Backs Cobolli
Nevertheless, Sinner will undoubtedly be firmly in Cobolli's corner. Reflecting on his bond with the recent French Open finalist, he added: "I know him quite well, of course, being Italian. He is a great character. I think also people love him because he is very, very authentic, and that's just how he is, also back in the locker rooms. Very glad he found a house! It makes life easier if you are around the courts here. And of course, I follow him, I wish him only the best of luck. The more Italians we are, from an Italian point of view, the better it is. And there is also [Jasmine] Paolini as well, so it is amazing to see, especially here in Wimbledon, the most prestigious tournament we have, having three Italians fighting for it, it's amazing."
