Matteo Berrettini was one of the really unlucky ones of the 2023 season. It is to be hoped that the charismatic Italian will finally remain injury-free for a longer period of time in the coming season.
von tennisnet.com
last edited: November 28, 2023, 9:43 a.m
Matteo Berrettini also impressed at Wimbledon in 2023
Great scenes that took place on the Italian bench over the weekend. Not to mention, of course, the sporting performance that Jannik Sinner in particular has taken to new sporting heights in Málaga. But on the bench, you could see the cheerleader Numero Uno at work: Matteo Berrettini, probably at least the second-best Italian tennis professional in terms of performance when healthy, put himself fully at the service of Filipo Volandri’s team. And was recognized again by Jannik Sinner during the winner’s interview on the court.
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Because once again Matteo Berrettini’s body has played some nasty tricks. That was already the case in 2022, when he would have gone into the Wimbledon tournament as possibly Novak Djokovic’s only serious competitor. However, he decided not to compete due to a positive corona test.
Berrettini in the round of 16 at Wimbledon
This year it was primarily the abdominal muscles that let Matteo down. The season had started quite well with the Italians reaching the final of the United Cup (even if Berrettini lost the last two top games against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz). The now 27-year-old Roman delivered his best performance again at Wimbledon, where, after victories against Lorenzo Sonego, Alex de Minaur and Alexander Zverev, he only failed in the round of 16 against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
After that, only two match wins followed: against Gregoire Barrere in Toronto and, quite convincingly, against Ugo Humbert in the first round of the US Open. But the next task followed in the next game against Arthur Rinderknech and with it the early end of the season.
Now Matteo Berrettini has slipped to position 97 in the ATP charts, and his starting place at the Australian Open 2024 is by no means certain. And even if Matteo slips into the 128 grid in Melbourne, he would of course start unseeded. And could face a seeded player in round one. Unpleasant – which would also apply the other way round. Because nobody wants to have a healthy Matteo Berrettini as an opponent early on.
2023-11-28 10:41:00
#unlucky #Matteo #Berrettini #return #strength #tennisnet.com
