When Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner met with the Italian Prime Minister, the huge size difference was evident.
Giorgia Meloni watched a replay of Sinner’s incredible come-from-behind victory over Daniil Medvedev, posed for photos and held the trophy aloft as she welcomed the star back to her home country.
“I have something to show you,” the Italian prime minister said as he turned on the television to show Sinner’s match point victory at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
The two then hugged each other, with the 1.88m star bending down to hug the 1.52m politician.
Meloni posted a clip of the two and wrote to X: And to win.
“Thank you, Yannick, for setting an example for sports enthusiasts, young people and all of Italy.”
However, the tennis star has cooled down some heat over his decision to meet Meloni, who is known as a right-wing populist.
Meloni, Italy’s first female prime minister, heads the national conservative party “Italian Brothers”.
She has been described by critics as a neo-fascist, particularly after making positive statements about Hitler’s ally Benito Mussolini, who was summarily executed in opaque circumstances at the end of World War II.
As is often the case when politics and sports mix, it didn’t take long for the knives to come out.
Some particularly criticized Sinner for hugging politicians.
“As a famous athlete, I can understand meeting a Prime Minister who happens to be a fascist, but frankly I don’t understand hugging them,” one person commented on X regarding the meeting.
Another said, “Many athletes in my country refused to meet with Trump when the human stain was in the White House. But Jannik Sinner not only met with a fascist, but also had a long We had a hug. It’s embarrassing for him.”
Meloni has previously distanced himself from fascism.
“I have never had any sympathy or affinity for anti-democratic regimes. I am opposed to any regime, including fascism,” she said in her 2022 opening speech to Congress.
She also said her party “unequivocally condemns Nazism and communism” and “firmly opposes any anti-democratic tendencies.”
Pearl-clutching left-wing opponents may have over-exaggerated Meloni’s specter. economist She recently pointed out that Italy’s social policy has changed little since her election.
Sinner clearly has a lot of attention, with images of him carrying the Australian Open trophy passing through the airport going viral online.
