Berrettini admits need to be realistic in comeback after crying following loss: "My best level will take time"

Matteo Berrettini made his return at the Stuttgart Open, an event he won last year by beating Andy Murray in the final though things didn't go well this time around.

He faced Lorenzo Sonego, a very capable player on the grass who can be tough to beat if he has his serve working. He did and cruised easily by a very lacklustre Berrettini. Losing the match shouldn't be a huge surprise as he didn't play in two months so those first matches back are always rough. Losing as easily on grass as he did should be concerning fans as Wimbledon is not too far away and improving that dramatically seems like a huge challenge.

The loss impacted Berrettini who was spotted leaving the court in tears and he took to Instagram to address his fans following the loss. Berrettini congratulated Sonego on the victory first:

"Firstly, congratulations to my close friend Lorenzo Sonego on yesterday's win. Yesterday was a very tough day. Despite feeling match fit and ready. I clearly was not."

The Italian then explained that he worked hard with the hope of having a dream return like last year but it didn't happen:

"I have worked extremely hard to recover from my latest injury and to not have the dream return like I had last year is difficult to process. But I need to be realistic, my best level will take time and matches. I am putting in the work and the results will follow. I am fully focused on doing all I can to be match ready for Queen's [Club Championships]."

Berrettini had a similar trajectory last year as he missed the entire clay season due to a wrist injury but returned in stellar fashion winning Stuttgart and Queen's back-to-back. That won't be happening this year but he still thanked the fans for support:

"Thank you very much for all the support and kind messages I have received. They really mean a lot."