Itineraries
“A Toast to Gianni!”
'Game, set, match. Jannik Sinner wins' Rino Tommasi in 1971 How wonderful it would have been to hear Gianni Clerici and Rino Tommasi commentate the first historic victory of an Italian at Wimbledon. Everyone thought so, in one way or…
The Predestined Sinner
On November 8, 2019, Gianni Clerici titled an article in *La Repubblica*: “The Chosen One, Sinner: Never Have We Seen an Italian This Strong.” Jannik, who had just turned 18, had just defeated Frances Tiafoe and Mikael Ymer at the…
Wimbledon 1960: Diary of a “giornatore”
Journalist or writer... writer or journalist... why choose? Welcome the "journ-writer!" Gianni Clerici, defying those who thought they could pigeonhole him, decided not to split himself in half, but to double himself instead—and for this, we will be eternally grateful.…
Gianni and Rino, what a pair!
Once upon a time, there were the roaring Eighties—a highly fertile sporting era filled with epochal duels and legendary rivalries: from the first clashes between the fierce teammates Senna and Prost, through the masterful free kicks of Maradona and Platini…
“Er Francia” shines in Paris: Nicola Pietrangeli becomes Slam champion
Gianni Clerici was perhaps the world’s foremost expert on Nicola Pietrangeli—so much so that he even refused to write a biography of him, as he himself claimed. He knew him so well that he could dissect every single technical move…
A marvel in the capital: Jasmine’s spring, forty years after Reggi
Before May 17, 2025, only three Italian women had managed to win the singles title at the Italian Open: the first was Lucia Valerio, a true dominant figure in Italian tennis in the postwar period and winner of the second…
25 May 1976: “Panatta, miraculously saved”
Can you picture someone climbing to the top of the Madonnina, slipping, and sliding from spire to spire all the way down to the churchyard? Without a scratch or a bruise, just a lot of fear and cold sweat? You…
Montecarlo: a rather… Italian tournament
Starting Saturday, April 5th, the Monte-Carlo Masters will take place—a tournament founded in 1897 and now in its 118th edition. A historic stop on the circuit, the red clay of Monaco has witnessed the triumphs of many greats of the…
Monte-Carlo Country Club – in the footsteps of Suzanne Lenglen
Monte Carlo, a central district and the jewel in the crown of the semi-enclave that is the Principality of Monaco, a gem nestled at the eastern edge of the French Riviera. It’s 1893: among royal residences and palaces clinging to…
The young poet of «Il Tennis Italiano»
June 6, 2024: it has now been two years since the passing of Gianni Clerici, one of the most refined and irreverent voices in the history of Italian sports journalism. His precious book collection, donated to the Università Cattolica of…