Pope Francis congratulated Jannik Sinner, the first Italian to win a tennis Grand Slam in 48 years, on Monday.
According to a Vatican statement, Francis commended Sinner and his comrades during an encounter with members of a Barcelona tennis club.
“We have to congratulate the Italians because they won in Australia yesterday,” remarked the 87-year-old pope, who is most known for his love of soccer.
Sinner, 22, beat Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open on Sunday, overcoming a two-set disadvantage to win 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3.
The Italian hails from the German-speaking Alpine region of South Tyrol, and initially practiced skiing before switching to focus on tennis in his youth.
