Alessandro Giannessi was born in 1990 in La Spezia, as former no.42 and Italian Davisman Davide Sanguinetti. He's an Italian under-16 champion; had a serious knee injury that delayed his growth between 17 and 18 years. Very quick and reactive at return, left-handed, has good touch, Alessandro is a player who, if had been born 20 years earlier and had been lucky enough to find a smart coach, it would probably become an impeccable serve and volley classic player.

Slice backhand, slice service, to the net at first chance, murderous volley, velvety touch and serve-bomb: with these physical and technical qualities, he probably would have had an honorable career as a top 50. A Siemerink of the Riviera, in fact. Instead, to Giannessi was given the important task of having to emerge in the era of power tennis, where if you approach to the net you come to the same end as thrushes on power lines and if you have shots from baseline not as heavy as artillery howitzer, you cannot go anywhere.

Thus, while on the forehand there are not problems (with the DNA of the left-handed attacker uses the classic eastern and the ball runs fast) all the troubles are on the backhand where the traditional, constitutional weakness of the wrist that has limited many left-handed, condemned to eternal backspin, has tried to remedy with an awkward double handed setting. The result is a weak backhand, so weak you can cut it with a bread stick, perhaps the weakest shot among the first 400 players in the world. But despite this handicap, Alessandro seems determined to climb the highest peaks of the ranking, and he already has climbed at an altitude of around 200. Because one thing differs from his archetype Nargiso-style: he is not a moody, or talented but flawed. He is a serious boy, that wants to work. If the backhand is poor, he runs like crazy to move to hit a forehand, which, often out of position, shoot down the line: risky but clear-headed. And since it has technique and cold mind his ball often stays inside the court. Together with a deadly drop shot, and a varied and unpredictable service, should be enough to be in the top 100. Of course, being born 20 years earlier ...

Roberto

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