Last year there was great expectation for him but Matteo tested positive for Covid and thus missed the tournament. The Italian tennis player is the only one to have reached the Wimbledon final in history and has only been defeated by a stratospheric athlete like Novak Djokovic. Yes, I think it's good." Berrettini and the Wimbledon dream Few social networks? I think sometimes it's good to detach from these realities and live the real life. Breakpoints? It was strange to see me again, but exciting. My mother's pendant? It's a lucky charm and thus bring my family with me.Ĭry? When I was little I cried on the court, then I cried with joy but I think this is important, emotions count in tennis. Here are the words of the Italian athlete: "First of all, I wish you a lot of health which unfortunately was lacking in 2022, and obviously the results that never hurt. The Italian number one will face the British Andy Murray in the first round and it will be quite a strong start for him. I'm really happy for that.Matteo Berrettini talked exclusively to Italian show RaiDue, and he recounted his impressions, a few days before the Australian Open 2023. “I remember watching him play Roland Garros from my TV. But I'm so glad that I have this kind of, like, opportunity right now. I remember playing in Australia against him five sets. “Playing against Carlos, it's always been like a pleasure, a great fight. “In a way it's what you want, right? You want to play against the best players in the world,” Berrettini said. It remains the only five-set match Alcaraz has ever lost. He was also a Wimbledon finalist in 2021 and has progressed to the second week in his past three visits to the All England Club.īerrettini won his only previous Grand Slam match against Alcaraz, a thrilling third-round clash on Rod Laver Arena at Australian Open 2022. This record includes the two Queen’s Club championships prior to Alcaraz’ 2023 title run. READ MORE: Battle for world No.1 to continue at WimbledonĪlcaraz, the reigning Queen’s champion who is 8-0 this year on grass, was the player heavily favoured to advance to the final from the top half of the draw.īut suddenly he confronts one of the most dangerous opponents of all.Īfter Novak Djokovic, Berrettini is the most credentialled player on grass left in the field, having won 35 of his past 39 grass-court matches. “But in each isolated match, he suddenly feels like a threat again, and I didn't think he was a threat at this tournament at all, because of just how bad he was in Stuttgart a few weeks ago.” It feels like a very long way off for him to actually string together so many big wins after not playing for so long. "His draw is a nightmare, if he's going to make real progress in this tournament. “Because that guy knows how to play on a grass court. "Oh, it's a total game-changer if Berrettini is back,” Matt Roberts, presenter on The Tennis Podcast, said after his win over De Minaur. There, he beat 19th seed Zverev, sealing another straight-set victory with a powerful ace – his 36th winner of the match – to return to the second week. "A total game-changer"īerrettini completely outplayed in-form 15th seed Alex de Minaur, pounding 38 winners to the Australian’s 16 to charge into the third round. Then he attained an entirely different level. But this time, unseeded and ranked 38th, Berrettini avenged his Stuttgart defeat in four sets. The tennis gods were again unkind, handing him a rematch with Sonego. “I was like, I have to come back and feel alive when I play.” “I really spent, like, days in bed thinking about the tournaments that I missed, the injuries that I had, sadness that I was feeling. That's what I said to myself.ĮXPERT PICKS: Who will be the Wimbledon champions in 2023? I couldn't leave this place without trying. But then I missed too many events in the last years. “(A) few days before, I thought, like, ‘I'm not ready’. In order to play a Slam, you have to be ready physically, emotionally, mentally.
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