Pope Francis congratulates Italy after tennis player Jannik Sinner wins the Australian Open

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has congratulated Italy after tennis player Jannik Sinner became the country’s first man to win a Grand Slam singles title in nearly a half century. Sinner won the Australian Open title on Sunday and Francis made the acknowledgement during an audience with the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. The pope says “today we have to congratulate the Italians because yesterday they won in Australia so we congratulate them, too.” The last Italian man to win a Grand Slam singles title was Adriano Panatta in 1976. Francis adds that tennis is “an enriching challenge if it is played in an educated manner according to the rules.”