Matteo Berrettini admitted on Netflix’s tennis documentary that losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2021 Wimbledon final was a hard pill to swallow. Berrettini, 26, made his first Grand Slam final at 2021 Wimbledon. Berrettini made a positive start to his first Grand Slam final but Djokovic stormed back from a set down to beat the Italian 6-7 (4) 6-4 6-4 6-3.
“I’ve come so close to being a champion. So far, it was the biggest moment of my career. If it wasn’t for Novak, maybe I would have had a Slam already. That loss was really hard, but it taught me so much. Now, it’s my time,” Berrettini said on the second episode of Break Point.
Berrettini won’t lift his first Grand Slam title this January
Berrettini came to this year’s Australian Open hoping to become a Grand Slam champion. Unfortunately for Berrettini, his hopes of winning the Australian Open didn’t last long after he was beaten by Andy Murray in the first round.
Berrettini had a match point in the 10th game of the fifth set but Murray saved it to eventually clinch a 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7 (7) 7-6 (6) win. “I had a match point. Just it’s really tough to talk about the match now. Could have been, you know, different just with a different ball.
Last year I won 7-6 in the fifth. This year I lost 7-6 in the fifth. It’s just tennis,” Berrettini said after the loss. Also, Berrettini took a moment to acknowledge Murray’s fighting spirit and dedication following two major hip surgeries.
“It’s impressive what he could do after so many surgeries, after all the kilometers that he ran in his career. It’s impressive. It just shows how much he loves the game, how much he loves these kind of matches,” Berrettini added.
Berrettini didn’t have a great Australian Open and he will certainly be looking to make amends in the next Grand Slam tournaments.
