Former player Chris Evert thinks that the Wimbledon run turned out more negative than positive for Berrettini due to the way it impacted his private life.
Matteo Berretini was relatively well known before his Wimbledon run making a few deep runs including one at the US Open semi-finals. The Italian ascended to stardom when he made the Wimbledon run to the final and Evert noted in her talk with Ubitennis that his life profoundly changed after that.
He started getting more attention both on and off the court:
"I think that after the Wimbledon final he played in 2021 his life has changed profoundly. People began to approach him, to cajole him. And especially women have started to look at [him] in a different way. Everyone wanted to touch him. "[Matteo Berrettini] is a very kind person and it's not easy to manage these situations when life changes so drastically."
She continued:
"It often happens when you have a bit of success, especially when you play the Wimbledon final, which is a big success. It is so beautiful, everyone in Italy wants it and such enthusiasm can overwhelm and confuse you. It's all experience and thank goodness today a career can easily last for 20 years . I really hope he returns to his best."
Matteo Berrettini defends his relationship: “At this point in life, seeing a relationship as a distraction for an athlete is disrespectful to me. It’s like saying that a journalist writes worse articles bc he has a wife & kids. It’s something that doesn’t make any kind of sense”
