Rafael Nadal played a very good match to defeat
Matteo Berrettini in four sets but the Italian kept a positive attitude after the match.
The match was played with a closed roof and that change threw Berrettini off early in the match as he admitted after the match. He said:
“It was the first time that I played under the roof. It was different
conditions. I struggled. At the beginning I couldn't really find the
rhythm. It took me a while to adapt, but at the same time Rafa was
playing really well. I learned that you have to be ready any time. It's a sport that you
have to be able to adapt to everything that is happening. Today he was
just way better than me.”
Berrettini also shared that the players shared a few words after the match in the locker room:
"Just look at the numbers. I don't know how many semi-finals Rafa has played, but I know that he has more experience in this. We chatted a little bit in the locker room. He told me that it was a
great run, and I told him again, bravo. It's just really nice for me to
talk to him and have this kind of conversation, because I'm still
learning from him, and it's good.”
Berrettini recognized that his level is slowly improving as he was only defeated by Djokovic and Nadal in the past four grand slams he played. The Italian is learning from each experience in order to be ready for the next challenge:
“I know that my level is getting higher and higher. I think here for the third and the fourth [sets], my tennis
level was really high. I'm not saying that he was struggling, but he
had to play his best tennis to be with me, and this is what the great
champions do normally. When you're stepping up the level, they are there
with you. I think it's time for me to play these kind of matches as much as
possible, to learn from these matches, and next time I want to be ready
for them.”