The Wimbledon semifinalist from Carrara sat in the bar area with his family. The 69th ranked women’s player, a hard-charging right-hander from Rimini, ate in the main dining room with friends. Out in the back garden, the 31st best men’s player in the world, a rising star from Rome, chowed down with his team.
It was Saturday night before the start of the U.S. Open, and Via Della Pace, an East Village trattoria, was buzzing. Three of Italy’s best tennis players — Lorenzo Musetti, Lucia Bronzetti and Flavio Cobolli — were dotted around the space, enjoying a relaxing evening at what has become the Italian players’ cafeteria and lounge each year during the U.S. Open.
“It’s beautiful place for us to come,” said Mr. Cobolli, decked out in a crisp blue dinner jacket with a bright white polo shirt underneath. “We always have a table and we eat well, with real Italian pasta.”
Players from other countries also find their spots in New York during the Open. Some French players frequent Le Baratin in the West Village, while others visit Tao’s various locations or the Odeon. But for the Italians, it’s Via Della Pace, where Italian films are shown in silence on the TV behind the bar and memorabilia of calcio (soccer) and tennis adorn the walls.
On any given night during the three weeks of the Open — including a week of practice — there could be as many as five Italian players in the joint, sometimes more, in addition to coaches, agents, friends and family. Matteo Berrettini, who reached the Open semifinal in 2019, fueled up on Via Della Pace’s pasta, is a regular. He sometimes goes several nights in a row.
Sara Errani, a former world No. 1 player, and Jasmine Paolini, who is coming off back-to-back major semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon, are frequent visitors.
The Italian players are growing increasingly successful and, this year, there are 10 Italians in the men’s singles draw at the U.S. Open and 5 Italians in the women’s draw. Many are likely to stop by Via Della Pace at least once, based on recent history.
Paolo Lorenzi, who retired from the tour three years ago, sat with Mr. Cobolli and his crew on Saturday. For years, he has been a loyal patron of the restaurant and its owners, Marco Ventura and Giovanni Bartocci.
“Giovanni and Marco brought Italy to New York,” said Mr. Lorenzi, who is now the tournament director of the Rome Masters tournament.
Mr. Bartocci is one of the most recognizable fans at the U.S. Open each year, bellowing support for his countrymen in full-throated Italian, with his long hair bundled atop his head and big silver rings on all 10 fingers. Mr. Ventura is as quiet as his partner is loud.
The two try to make the establishment as comfortable as possible for the players. That includes turning off the air conditioning, in the European style, even on warm nights when the players show up.
“Italian players, we are all friends, and we like to go out and eat Italian food wherever we travel,” Ms. Bronzetti said. “I usually don’t try other types of food. Well, in New York, maybe sometimes I like the hamburgers.”
Whenever she wins a match at the Open, Ms. Bronzetti celebrates at Via Della Pace. “It’s my tradition,” she said.
Mr. Musetti, who won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, usually sits at the same spot each night — at the table below one of his blue tennis shirts, which is framed on the wall.
“I come here because it is relaxing after the tennis,” he said. “Giovanni and Marco, they always find me a table and we talk about the day.”
The restaurant is currently in its second iteration after the original site was destroyed by fire in February 2020. Mr. Bartocci and Mr. Ventura did not have the money to rebuild. But their current landlord heard of their plight and offered them a new space. The address is 87 East 4th Street. The old location was 48 East 7th Street, a simple transposition of numerals.
“When we saw that, we said, ‘This is the place,’” Mr. Ventura recalled. “It was a sign.”
They were still short of money to renovate and reopen, but raised the cash with the help of crowdfunding — enhanced by social media posts from the Italian players. They suspect some of the anonymous donations came from the players.
The grand reopening was on May 1, 2022, and based on how busy it was on a couple of nights last week, it seems successful.
“Success is a big word,” Mr. Bartocci said. “We are open. And we are stubborn, me and Marco.”
On Saturday, the place hummed with the rhythmic pulse of Italian, which filled the air from what seemed like at least 70 percent of the customers, whether racket swingers, lawyers, tourists or clergy.
Father Luigi Portarulo, a local priest originally from Italy, was there on Saturday. An athlete himself (he was the captain of his Vatican soccer team), Father Portarulo spent much of Saturday night ministering with the diners, especially Mr. Musetti and the other players scattered about the restaurant.
“This place, it is a point of reference for the Italian players,” he said. “It is a beautiful thing they can relax here and feel part of a community.”
Father Portarulo’s favorite dish is the spaghetti carbonara, with crispy guanciale (salt-cured pork jowl). For Mr. Musetti, it is the spaghetti cacio e pepe. Sometimes the athletes ask for healthier meals, like salads, or chicken breast with spaghetti and olive oil. But Ms. Bronzetti likes all the pastas, as does Mr. Cobolli.
“I live in Rome,” Mr. Cobolli said. “I have friends in Rome, a girlfriend in Rome, I play in Rome, I cheer for Rome, everything is Rome,” Mr. Cobolli said in the restaurant’s garden. “When I come here, it’s also like Rome.”
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