Sinner the winner’s celebratory dinner

How very Italian of him. The other night in Mayfair, Jannik Sinner put on a dark Gucci suit for a dinner hosted by the fashion house to celebrate his rise to the top of tennis. The guests included the Ken doll from Barbie in human form (Ryan Gosling) along with Salma Hayek, which tells you something about the circles he is mixing in now as an ambassador for Gucci.

But the redhead’s main business in London is, of course, in his Wimbledon whites, with his elevation to world No. 1 taking Italy to new, previously unimaginable places.

For the first time, an Italian man goes into The Championships as the top seed in the gentlemen’s singles. This summer, there’s the very real possibility that Sinner could become the first Italian to win Wimbledon (and if he does, he won’t have to worry about where to find a dinner jacket for the Champions Dinner).

As Sinner said at the Mayfair dinner, there’s no point putting extra pressure on himself as he knows that’s not going to help. So far, he appears to be handling the increased attention and expectations that come with being the No. 1, as he won his first tournament, on the grass of Halle in Germany, barely two weeks after reaching the top spot. A first-time semi-finalist at the All England Club last summer, Sinner opens against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.

Italian prospects brightened by Berrettini

But what if Sinner’s attempt to make history in London this summer – and this sentence is dangerously close to making this all sound a bit ‘Zoolander does lawn tennis’ – is blocked by another Italian who is the face of a fashion label?

If Sinner wins and Matteo Berrettini beats Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics, the two Italians will meet in the second round. That could be an uncomfortable occasion for Sinner as Berrettini is never more effective than when he’s on a grass court.

In 2021, Berrettini became the first Italian man to play in a Wimbledon final – he lost to Novak Djokovic – and was widely seen as one of the contenders for the 2022 title before withdrawing after testing positive for Covid. Last summer, it took Carlos Alcaraz, the eventual champion, to stop him in the fourth round.

Consider how half of Berrettini’s eight ATP singles titles have come on grass, including two victories at the Queen’s Club in London, and how he very nearly added another title in Stuttgart this summer where he was the runner-up to Britain’s Jack Draper.

Raducanu returns

Visiting some of Oxford University’s colleges recently – as she is interested in possibly studying there after her tennis career is over – Emma Raducanu must have seen all the signs requesting: ‘Please keep off the grass.’

Only the professors and a lucky few can step there. In some ways, going to Oxford has much in common with playing Wimbledon: the dress codes, the ancient traditions and feeling privileged to actually be on the lawns.

Missing Wimbledon was a wretched experience for Raducanu last summer, with the Briton unable to compete because of operations to an ankle and both wrists.

Returning to the All England Club as a wild card, the 2021 US Open champion will be on the most celebrated lawn anywhere in the world – Centre Court – where she will play the lucky loser Renata Zarazua after the No.22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova withdrew because of illness on Monday morning.

Will Alcaraz join exclusive club?

Roland-Garros, Ibiza, Wimbledon: quite possibly the perfect summer itinerary.

Partying on Ibiza is how many 21-year-olds like to spend their summers and Alcaraz managed to fit in a quick trip to the island between the two European Grand Slams.

His choice of holiday destination is about the only ordinary thing about Alcaraz. After landing a first title on the Parisian clay, the Spaniard returns to the grass of the All England Club as the defending champion and so has the honour of opening the Centre Court programme on Monday when he plays Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal.

If Alcaraz can go on to retain the title, he would join a very exclusive club – even more exclusive than any club he visited in Ibiza – of men to have won in Paris and London in the same season. Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Djokovic are the only men to have done so since the Open Era began in 1968.

Osaka in dreamland

Back at Wimbledon for the first time in five years – and looking for her first victory on the grass for six years – Naomi Osaka has been feeling “very starry-eyed”.

“Can’t believe I’m here, wow,” the Japanese wild card wrote on social media.

Osaka, who has won two US Open titles and a couple of Australian Open titles, but has never gone beyond the third round at the All England Club, plays Frenchwoman Diane Parry in the opening round.