Matteo Berrettini: "Roger Federer is my idol - Novak Djokovic a machine"
Matteo Berrettini speaks live on Instagram with Chris Evert about the "Big Three", the current situation and his rapid rise in the previous year.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Apr 11, 2020, 06:24 pm
Too often you couldn't see Matteo Berrettini on the court in 2020 . More specifically, only twice. Because apart from the Australian Open, the Italian had to cancel his previous appearances due to injury, now the interruption of the tour prevents him from making a comeback. The man from Rome had had a good chance of making another leap forward in the first half of the year. His top 10 ranking is largely due to the strong autumn of last year, the spring has hardly any points to defend in the 23-year-old.
Speaking on Instagram live with Chris Evert, Matteo Berrettini is unsure when the time will come for his comeback: "I'm not optimistic that the tennis season will resume this summer. Europe and the United States are going through a difficult time. I fear that the current season will be canceled, "said the world ranking eighth. At the same time, he has at least good news about his fitness: "I'm in good shape and I train every day," Berrettini said.
Berrettini's rise, already mentioned, began after the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo. "I was surprised at how quickly I was able to improve my ranking." After the first round loss in Monte Carlo, Berrettini changed his training - the victory of Fognini had given him additional motivation. "I won two titles in Budapest and Stuttgart and reached the final in Munich. I didn't expect to reach the semi-finals at the US Open and to get good results on the pitch," said Berrettini.
Roger Federer is Berrettini's idol
But of all things at the Grand Slam in Wimbledon things didn't go well for the Italian, against Roger Federer he only managed five game wins in three sets. "I was too emotional that day. I thank him for teaching me a lesson," said Berrettini. The man from Rome was probably emotional because Roger Federer was an "idol" for him. "He can do whatever he wants. It's easy. He's my idol. I can talk about him for two years. He makes it look like he was born that way," enthuses the US Open semi-finalist Last year.
On the other hand, he has less fun playing Novak Djokovic: "Novak is a machine. For me, the worst thing is to play against him. I remember playing in the ATP finals in London, almost 70% of mine had first serves in the second set and still lost the set 6-1. I couldn't keep my serve. It has an amazing return, " Ubitennis.com quoted the Italian. And also for the third in the group, Rafael Nadal, Berrettini has only praising words: "Nadal's intensity is incredible. It doesn't matter whether it is 5-0 or 5-0."