Last year’s US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini and his Australian girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic talked to 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert on Instragram live. Tomljanovic was 13 years old, when she moved to Florida to train at Chris Evert’s Academy in Boca Raton.
“We are happy to spend time together. We often play in the same tournaments, but tennis is the priority.
Berrettini said that he idolized Roger Federer, whe he grew up, but he also respects Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who share the last 13 Grand Slam titles together.
“Roger is tennis. He can do whatever he wants. It’s easy. He is my idol. I can talk about him for two years. He makes it look like he born like that. Novak is a machine. For me, he is the worst to play. I remember playing playing in London at the tour finals, had nearly 70% of my first serves in the second set and still lost the set 6-1. I could not hold my serve. He has an amazing return. His backhand is really good. Nadal’s intensity is unbelievable. It does not matter if the score is 5-0 and 0-5”, said Berrettini.
Berrettini also talked about the current suspension of the tennis season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I am not optimistic that the tennis season will resume this summer. Europe and the United States are getting through a difficult period. I fear that the current season will be cancelled. I am in good shape and I am training every day”.
Berrettini looked back to the 2019 season and admitted that he was surprised about reaching a top-10 spot in the ATP Ranking.
“I was surprised how quickly I improved my ranking. I changed my training after losing in the first round in Monte-Carlo. Fabio Fognini’s title gave me extra motivation to improve my tennis. I won two titles in Budapest and Stuttgart and reached the final in Munich. I did not expect to reach the semifinal at the US Open and achieve good results on grass, apart from the match against Roger Federer. That day I was too emotional. I thank him for giving me a lesson”.
Berrettini talked about the relationship to his coach Vincenzo Santopadre.
“I met Vincenzo for the first time when I was 14 and I spend more time with him than my family. I started training with him for fun. He did not put pressure on me until I was 20 years old. He knew that tennis is a marathon, but not a sprint. He helped me to improve my physical training.”
