Matteo Berrettini returned to Italy after the defeat to Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals of the US Open. In mind, the Davis Cup. “To redeem me. The team is ready,” he explained. In the mind the Davis Cup, in the heart the elimination at the hands of Casper Ruud from the quarter-finals of the US Open.
A 2022 not easy for Berrettini, who went through the successes on the grass in Stuttgart and the Queen’s, but also for great bitterness, such as the forfeit required at Wimbledon. Back in Italy, Berrettini witnessed Italy’s victory over Great Britain at Eurobasket 2022 on Thursday evening, in a Forum in Assago which dedicated a standing ovation full of affection to him.
Matteo Berrettini: “It was a complicated year”
The goals, however, are always a stimulus, as the player confirms: “It was a complicated year, with difficult moments. Now I want to use Davis to redeem myself, the team is ready, and Jannik played a great match with Alcaraz at New York.
We are ready.” A bit of obvious pressure on a high-level team: “I think it’s a right and natural pressure. But we’re also a young team, which needs time to get involved, to form a group that makes a difference.”
And one more little thought at the ATP Finals: “Hope is always the last to die. I have faith in my means, but it doesn’t just depend on me.” Matteo Berrettini will find the Davis Cup again after 3 years, thanks to some injuries too many.
Italians will face Croatia on 14 September in Bologna, Argentina on 16 September and Sweden on 18 September. After Berrettini, he will focus on the UniCredit Firenze Open, scheduled from 10 to 16 October on hardcourt. ATP returns to the Tuscan city where it has been missing since 1994 for a 250 tournament that could represent one of the last important hopes in view of the difficult ATP Finals option. Matteo wasted a great chance in New York, in a part of the draw in which he was the clear favorite.
