Last year’s US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini talked from the United States to Italian Sports channel about the period he is spending at home during the coronavirus pandemic which has forced tournament organisers to cancel their events scheduled until June.
“I was ready to play Indian Wells. In this period I am trying to improve my physical form. Tennis is not the priority at the moment. I have to find the form again after being sidelined by an injury problem at the start of the year. My days at home are boring and strange. This happens when we are injured. Health is our priority and we have to fight against the coronavirus. It’s a strange feeling that many tennis tournaments have been cancelled or postponed. The life of tennis players is focused on these tennis tournaments, but they are less important than what is happening in the world now. There are many people without work now. Tennis can wait. I am very sorry that the Rome Massters tournament has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. It shocked me more than the news that Wimbledon will not take place this year. Rome is my city and I started my career at this tournament. We will have to get used to this situation for many weeks”, said Berrettini.
Berrettini broke into the top 10 of the ATP Ranking on 28th October 2019 and achieved his career-high of world number 8 on 4 November. He became the first ATP Finals singles qualifier since Corrado Barazzutti in 1978. Berrettini’s 2019 season was highlighted by two titles in Budapest and Stuttgart, and the semifinals at the US Open, Halle, Vienna and Shanghai.
“I believe that the US Open has been the springboard event for my career. It has been a big step forward in my career. I did not think about reaching the top 10, but my goal was to play at my best level”, said Berrettini.
“My idol growing up was Roger Federer. He won every tournament, when I started playing tennis and it was easy to be a fan of Federer. I liked his way of playing tennis and his respect for his rivals. When I started playing against him, I realized that I can no longer be his fan. I have to be focused on myself. I enjoyed playing against Federer in London. He played a perfect match. I was not ready for that stage. I have been lucky to play against Djokovic, Nadal, Federer. I also faced Andy Murray, who was not in his best form, but he beat me last year in Beijing. Twelve months ago I would have said that my favourite surface was clay, but I achieved good results everywhere. The surface where I play better is outdoor hard-court”.
