Following a difficult weekend, Italian tennis experienced a historic Monday. For the first time since computerized rankings were introduced, Italy has a player in the Top 10 of both the ATP and the WTA rankings. They are, of course, Jannik Sinner, the new world number one, and Jasmine Paolini, the new number seven and the first Italian Top 10 in the WTA rankings since Roberta Vinci's departure on September 12, 2016. Sinner is the first Italian ever to top the rankings. The South Tyrolean, who was defeated in the semifinals at Roland Garros, has arrived at the place where everyone aspires to be at least once in their lives. He was the first player since 1992 to win the first four Grand Slam matches of the season against Top 10 players. However, he was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in the first semi-final between two under-23s at Roland Garros since the Djokovic-Nadal clash in 2008. He has maintained an exceptional performance during the first half of the season and has been awarded the first place in the Race, which is determined solely by the calendar year's results. Between now and the US Open, the Italian has roughly half as many points to defend as his two main rivals, Djokovic and Alcaraz. In short, it will be entertaining. Meanwhile, Jasmine Paolini has reason to celebrate after competing in her first Slam final at Roland Garros. Despite her defeat to Iga Swiatek, she is left with a strong emotion and a beautiful memory of the award ceremony with two sporting icons, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. "They complimented me on the tournament; it's always a pleasure to meet our sports legends. It was a powerful experience, made even more so by the fact that it took place during the Grand Slam final award ceremony. It was a special moment that I will always cherish. Laughing with Martina? She said, 'Unbelievable here,' and I said, 'Iga was unbelievable?", she explained. Italy is also the only country that will be able to have a Top 10 in both the ATP and WTA singles rankings at the same time.
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