Matteo Berrettini opens up about quick rise to the top

Matteo Berrettini has had a tremendous rise to the top in 2018 and now he looked back upon that.

Matteo Berrettini was an up and coming player back in 2018 but even he didn't anticipate the type of year and rise he would have. Speaking about that he said:

[In 2018, I started the season at] No. 135 so it is definitely different. You feel that when you are in the draw, they are looking at you like, ‘Okay, this guy is a seed so I want to beat him even more’. It definitely changed, but it is what you have to take,” said Berrettini.

His last year was a forgettable one because injuries and the pandemic limited him to only six appearances in 2020. Despite that he remained positive:

"Once you get [to the Top 10], you cannot say, ‘Okay, I am going to be happy if I am Top 20’… Obviously, it is not bad at all. When I was younger and I was thinking about myself being Top 20, I was like, ‘Okay, it could be a nice goal for my career’. I was Top 8 and obviously, I am chasing to be even better, but I got there without thinking about it. It is in my head, but I have to work every day and hopefully, I can improve my best ranking.”

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He also talked about the rise of Italian tennis which he called something to be proud of:

”It is something that we should be really proud of. All the players are really nice guys and there are others coming."

He touched upon the fact that the Nitto ATP Finals are moving to Turin:

”It would be great to be there. It is in Italy, Turin is a great city and I think it is going to be a great, great event. London was unbelievable, it was really nice and it has been a nice way to finish the year. I remember all my team and all my family was there, a lot of people came and it was nice. It would be nice to be there in Turin too but I think you have to go step-by-step. At the beginning of 2019, I didn’t think about that, so I think I have to think tournament-by-tournament.”

The Italian is set to make his 2nd appearance this year at the ATP Cup in order to prepare for the Australian Open. Be sure to check out our live scores page where you can follow live scores daily.