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Lorenzo Musetti beating out Jannik Sinner to claim the Italian Athlete of the Year award has left fans scratching their heads. The Gazzetta Sports Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring those who shined the brightest over the past year.
Musetti had a memorable season, cracking the top 10 for the first time in his career. He also reached his maiden Masters 1000 final at the Monte-Carlo Masters, and progressed to his very first Major semifinal at the French Open. He lost to Carlos Alcaraz on both occasions.
However, Sinner's achievements easily overshadowed Musetti's accomplishments. The former reigned supreme at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, while going down to Alcaraz in the French Open and US Open finals. He also won the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals, along with two more titles.
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Based on their results this year, many predicted Sinner to be feliciated yet again at the Gazzetta Sports Awards, just like he was a year ago. However, they opted to honor Musetti this time. Fans speculated that this could be on account of Sinner opting to skip the Davis Cup.
Sinner's decision to skip the tournament earned him a fair amount of backlash. Fans put on their thinking caps to ponder about the same on X (formerly Twitter), with most of them attributing the snub on his Davis Cup decision.
"They're still mad at Sinner for not playing Davis Cup LMAO," wrote a fan.
"Imagine being given an award so obviously out of spite for the obvious winner," wrote another fan.
"Yeah give it the dude who didn’t win a single trophy this year," chipped in another fan.
"Still salty for Sinner withdrawing form Davis cup," stated a fan.
"This is a joke, right???" wrote another fan.
"If not sinner at least Paolini man, come on," said a fan.
"Lorenzo is a good guy, but come on be serious," wrote one fan.
Musetti was initially supposed to compete in the Davis Cup as well, and ended up withdrawing at the last minute. However, even without the presence of Sinner and Musetti, the Italian team wound up claiming their third title in a row.
Italy defends their Davis Cup crown despite Jannik Sinner's absence
Jannik Sinner was instrumental in helping Italy win back-to-back Davis Cup titles in 2023 and 2024. Many predicted their odds of a hat-trick were dented following Sinner's withdrawal. When Lorenzo Musetti also pulled out after that, the Italian team went from being overwhelming favorites to possible contenders.
Sinner was the team's trump card, with a 12-1 record in singles at the Davis Cup. He had won his last six singles matches, and his last nine matches overall including doubles.
However, the rest of the Italian squad stepped up big time. Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli won all three of their singles ties to lead their team to victory. It was their fourth Davis Cup title overall, and they became the first team to claim three titles on the trot since the United States in 1972.
