“Margherita” by Beatrice Brandini

Margherita was a girl who worked for the Tennis Federation and was madly in love with a young tennis player.

Margherita was young, her pastimes were sport, study, cinema and reading. After work she spent the evening at home with her parents, with her best friend, but the moment she loved most was the one she spent with her father, a great sports enthusiast who had also given her that little job as an employee at the Federation.

One day she had to rewrite the list that the manager of the technical staff had given her, relating to the participation of athletes in an important international tournament, but in copying the list of participating tennis players, she made a very serious mistake. She wrote the name of the boy she liked so much (she was thinking about him at the time), instead of the one selected. While writing she saw that boy who was training in the tennis court, unconsciously the hand with which she typed on the pc, associated that subject. She did not notice the mistake and neither did the staff.

A few weeks went by and finally the call from London arrived, among the participants was Margherita’s very young love: Giovanni.

“Giovanni”, the love of Margherita by Beatrice Brandini

At that point the coaching staff noticed the mistake but the tournament started after a couple of days and there were no longer the conditions for changes (moreover, the London Organization would never have accepted them). In the meantime, the excluded player was slightly injured in his knee and was convinced that the denial of his call was due to the injury. The coaching staff did not know how to justify such a thing, so when the tennis player told them he was injured, they breathed a sigh of relief and confirmed that that was the only reason for his non-convocation.

In the meantime, the first tennis match was running on the television screen and Margherita’s very young love was playing. While everyone thought he wouldn’t win a single set (the opponents were all fierce and of a very high technical level), he made an exploit and won his first international match. The matches followed each other relentlessly and the boy who had no chance (the coaching staff was convinced of this) played with imagination, courage and lightness, having fun and amusing the public. We do not know why but he also won the second game and then the third, by now everyone knew his name, the Italian and English fans were crazy about him. Giovanni was working miracles, as the challenges followed one another, he gained confidence in himself, he felt invincible, and perhaps the one who pushed him to success was also Margherita with her positive thinking.

“Margherita and her family watch Giovanni in the English tournament” by Beatrice Brandini

In Italy the Giovanni mania had broken out, a beautiful cheer, everyone was competing to get on the winner’s wagon and take some credit. The day of the semifinal arrived and that semi-unknown boy was one of the contenders for the final. That mistake made by Margherita was turning out to be a miracle, a blessing for the Federation, for the Italians and for the whole sport.

The semifinal began, Giovanni played very well, he didn’t miss a ball, his tactics were unpredictable and casual, so much so that his very strong opponent couldn’t understand anything. The match lasted an eternity and the two players fought back each other, point by point. At the end Giovanni thought of all the champions he had seen play, watching their games in his short competitive life as a tennis player, this was probably the extra strength that made him win and win the match to reach the longed-for final.

When the day of the grand final arrived, Margherita watched the game on TV from home, covering her eyes from time to time during the decisive points full of pathos. Everyone thought that he would never win the tournament, since his was a prohibitive opponent, throughout his career the matches he had lost were counted on one hand. Despite this, the young man was not in awe of him, he was so concentrated that he seemed like a force of nature, he made every point with the authority of a giant. Strangely, there was no match, a little cheering from the public, a little enthusiasm, a little love of Margherita …, but above all the positive and attentive attitude made the young Italian unbeatable, the final was won by this one. last. Giovanni became a legend, the youngest champion to have won that famous tournament, a hero at home.

“The winner’s Cup” by Beatrice Brandini

Once at home, during a training session, his technical trainers told him about what had happened at the registration and that the credit for his success was largely due to the mistake of the secretary Margherita. He then decides to know her better and within a few weeks they become inseparable. He immediately understood that he had his second stroke of luck, that girl was definitely the woman he would have wanted next to in his life. The love between the two young people became stronger and stronger, crowning them in a promise of marriage.

“Margherita with long hair” by Beatrice Brandini

He never repeated important exploits and successes in tennis and Margherita graduated in Sports Medicine, Giovanni, after playing tennis, became a formidable international judge. He taught his children loyalty and commitment, so that discipline and the truth of merit triumphed in every sport. He often told them that the winner must always be what he deserved, because only in this way could one be an example for the following generations, for the champions of tomorrow, as he had been that day in London.

Faced with a true champion, even the opponent is induced to admiration. His children played tennis like their father, but they were never champions, because, as often happens, talent certainly cannot be handed down. Instead they became good professionals, one became a doctor, the other a lawyer. And when the family had some free time, they would meet and fight a double together.

The beauty of sport is not only where it can take you and what limits to overcome, but also to improve one’s character and one’s head. They understood it well and for this reason they admired even more their father Giovanni and mother Margherita, from whom everything was born.

Aging, with the passage of time, when they were alone, Margherita and Giovanni thought about their love story, from time to time they also watched the film of the triumph in London, but what made them more proud was not the English trophy but the family and the love they had had.

 “Margherita and Giovanni old” by Beatrice Brandini

Many years have passed, but still today the gazes of Margherita and Giovanni are accomplices and in love. Margherita with her spontaneous love created an immense joy around her, making the world a better place for all of us too.

Good life to everyone!

Beatrice