Matteo Berrettini has all the time excelled on grass courts, his massive serve and booming forehand at their most harmful on the slick lawns. Nevertheless it was on the 2019 US Open the place the Italian made his Grand Slam breakthrough, reaching the semi-finals earlier than a defeat to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.
With that have in his locker, along with a run to the 2021 Roland Garros quarter-finals, Berrettini was hotly tipped for one more deep run at Wimbledon in 2021. His title triumph on the grass at The Queen’s Membership in London, simply earlier than the 12 months’s third main, lifted him additional up the checklist of favourites on the All England Membership.
At Wimbledon, Berrettini dropped only one set in his first 4 matches as he cruised into the quarter-finals for the primary time. A pair of four-set victories in opposition to Felix Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz despatched him by way of the the ultimate, the place World No. 1 and two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic was ready. By reaching the championship match, he turned the primary Italian man to achieve a significant last since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Berrettini appeared again on the ultimate, a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) defeat performed on the highest degree from each males, within the Netflix docuseries Break Level. For added perspective, ATPTour.com caught up together with his brother, fellow tennis participant Jacopo Berrettini, for his personal reflections.
“I instructed typically to [Matteo] and my dad and mom that the ultimate at Wimbledon was in all probability the primary match that I used to be actually, actually nervous earlier than the match,” he stated. “Each time I’m actually calm and I’ve vitality to present to him, however calm. At the moment I [left] the stadium at Wimbledon to eat one thing and I couldn’t eat something. It was the primary time I felt one thing like that.
“It’s loopy and I used to be actually pleased with him and he was preventing with Djokovic, in opposition to the harm that he had,” he continued, referring to the thigh harm which later pressured Berrettini to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics. “He fought quite a bit and he did one thing loopy for him, for the household, for Italy too. For tennis in Italy it was the primary time. I used to be actually proud at the moment and I’m pleased with him now too.”
Berrettini roared again from a gradual begin to declare the opening set in opposition to Djokovic, however in the end fell sufferer to the Serbian’s regular, probing sport. Whereas he fell simply quick on that event, seeing an 11-match win streak come to an in depth, the Italian has used that have to change into a mainstay within the later spherical of Grand Slams. Relationship again to Roland Garros in 2021, simply earlier than his Wimbledon run, he has reached the quarter-finals or higher at every of the previous 5 majors he is performed.
Although he’s nonetheless searching for a second probability in a Grand Slam last, Berrettini has confirmed he’s greater than able to delivering with the stress on. His 7-5 report in tour-level finals consists of two trophies in each 2021 and 2022, and he reached a career-high Pepperstone ATP Rating of No. 6 after his run to the Australian Open quarters final 12 months.
Whereas his 2022 season was interrupted by a right-hand harm that required surgical procedure, he returned in time for the grass-court swing, throughout which he gained back-to-back titles at Stuttgart and The Queens’ Membership. As soon as once more, Berrettini entered Wimbledon among the many shortlist of favourites, however his alternative compete once more the well-known lawns was taken away by a constructive COVID-19 take a look at simply earlier than the match.
Whereas Berrettini’s harm (and sickness) luck plagued him final season, his brother sees the intense aspect in an harm of his personal, which freed him as much as be in London throughout Wimbledon in 2021.
“I used to be imagined to play one match that week, however I had an harm so I didn’t play that match,” he defined, discussing Berrettini’s run to the ultimate. “I got here again to dwelling, after which when [Matteo] went to the semi-finals I went to London. Most likely I used to be fortunate I had an harm as a result of I loved that second with him and all of the household.”