A year ago he left the Stuttgart pitch in tears, beaten in the first round by his friend Lorenzo Sonego. Now he is a knockout that hurts equally, but which cannot and must not take away Matteo Berrettini’s smile. Do you want why the defeat on the grass of the prestigious German tournament only came in the final and against a Jack Draper who, especially from the second set onwards, didn’t do anything wrong. Do you want why Berrettini himself, despite losing, made excellent impressions. From a physical and technical point of view. He lacked a bit of composure to bring home the title (it would have been the third of his career in the German city), but the Roman understood that he will be able to do well in the next tournament and, above all, at Wimbledon.
Stuttgart, Berrettini knocked out under the eyes of Khaby Lame
Of course, at the end of the match with the Englishman, played under the eyes of Khaby Lame, the Boss testimonial (just like Berrettini) guest of honor at the event, The Hammer did not hide his disappointment. “Congratulations to Jack, it’s been a fantastic week and a fantastic match,” he said after the match. “I’ve lost and won matches like this, I’m sure I’ll have more. I’m a little sad about the defeat – the admission – But I want to say thank you to my team. Only we know what we went through, I would like you too to be able to see what happens behind the scenes, how many sacrifices it takes. I’m sorry I couldn’t win, but I have received so many messages and I feel with each passing year that I have great support here.”
Matteo’s regrets: wasted opportunity against Draper
A speech that the Roman hammer delivered almost in tears, even if not all the signs were negative. On the contrary. Berrettini had been missing from the fields for two months. He had skipped first Rome and then Paris and the doubts that accompanied his return to the grass of Stuttgart were many. Matteo blew them away, passing – with flying colors – all the exams he had to face. SOnly in the third set of the final did a bit of tiredness emerge, after a week lived at high intensity. Here you are, if there must be one regret, it is for not having taken advantage of those two break points at 5-5 in the second set: had he broken the Englishman’s serve, Berrettini would probably have taken home the cup.
Immediately on the pitch at the Halle tournament: Sinner is also there
The next challenge, meanwhile, is just around the corner. Also in Germany, in Halle. On the scoreboard thanks to the special exempt (and in the meantime has risen from position 95 to 65 in the ranking), Berrettini will challenge a qualifier in the first round, in a tournament that sees at the starting line – naturally as the number 1 seed – one of his closest and most faithful friends on the circuit: Jannik Sinner. In Halle, an ATP 500, Berrettini will be looking for confirmation, after Stuttgart has already issued an important verdict: The Hammer is back, the hammer has started hitting effectively again. Even if the defeat in the final undoubtedly leaves him with some regret. And it would be strange if he didn’t.
