Matteo Berrettini’s season will remember it as a season full of regrets. It started with the quarter-finals on the blue Melbourne Park, inevitably conditioned by problems of a physical nature, certainly also by the brace on the lawns before the forced forfeit due to covid at the Championships.
Tournament that would not have earned him points, of course, but that would have given him at least the chance to finish in the top four given the results. In short: after a bittersweet season which essentially ended with the lame final in the 250 in Naples against Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Berrettini has inevitably targeted 2023.
The first stage of competitive training for the blue tennis player is the very rich Diriyah Tennis Cup, a competition for twelve elected officials which is giving away the sum of one million dollars for the winner and which will be played from 8 to 10 December.
“I’ve never been to Saudi Arabia. It will be a difficult tournament because the level of the participants is worthy of a Grand Slam. But I also think it will be the perfect tournament to understand how preparation is progressing,” explained Berrettini, before obviously dwelling on other elements.
Matteo Berrettini: “This has been a hell of a year”
The Italian, forced to play the decisive doubles in the semifinal against Canada in the Davis Cup due to Simone Bolelli’s physical problem, evidently tried to take stock of his 2022.
As usual with the usual and incredible lucidity. He explained: “Although it has never been a continuous season due to injuries, the results have been very good. When I was well I played the best tennis of my life, unfortunately many things happened then.
Let’s just say it’s been a hell of a year. I got injured and was sad, but then I told myself I couldn’t wait for something to happen. On a mental level every time after a return I felt stronger and stronger than the previous one. And that I think was the most important thing.”
