An Italian in the Wimbledon final ahead of Djokovic the cannibal by a set. Matteo Berrettini had made us dream, indeed, peppering four seasons of the highest level with the Slam semifinals at the US Open 2019 and Australia 2022 (both times stopped by Nadal), the two successes at Queen’s and a best ranking as number 6 on the planet. Those were the years of Sinner and Musetti’s apprenticeship, and of the exploits of his friend Lorenzo Sonego, while he, The Hammer, was the certainty, the man invited to the good living rooms (Laver Cup) and able to excel in the majors, always escorted by Vincenzo Santopadre who, as an expert, had worked on that raw material, intuiting its great potential first.

Berrettini’s injuries and dark period

Then the series of injuries and that Wimbledon lost because he had contracted Covid on the eve of his debut, followed by the gossip and nastiness about his relationship with Melissa Satta, and yet more injuries. Berrettini had become like Godot in Samuel Beckett’s opera: will he return or will he skip this tournament too? Often the answer was the latter, with Murphy’s Law ready to strike with enviable precision: abs, ankles, doubts, confidence that takes other paths, with Matteo more active at Milan Fashion Week or the Met Gala than on the court. And down with the sentences: he’s finished. A serious elbow injury had stopped the rise thirty years earlier of Omar Camporese, another Italian with a golden arm and a turbo forehand. In tennis, confidence is everything and losing it, often, is much easier than one might think from the outside. In decreeing the end of Matteo Berrettini, critics had underestimated a detail, which is not a detail: the Roman born in ’96 had built a top career thanks to his desire to fight, to go beyond his limits and to make the many who as a boy predicted a second-rate future for him or little more change their minds. That mix of talent and personality could not have disappeared completely.

Change of coach and staff

At a certain point Matteo decided to get back on his feet. He even changed staff, ending his partnership with Santopadre after 13 years. An extreme choice, also because his problems were certainly not on a technical level. But sometimes a change must be drastic to have an effect. The choice of replacement dispelled any doubts: Francisco Roig, a life in Rafa Nadal’s corner alongside first Uncle Toni and then Carlos Moya. Choosing Roig meant only one thing: Berrettini really wants to come back. Once the objectives were clear, the work with the very trusted mental coach Stefano Massari did the rest. And when the head works, the body follows the same path. As for the court, a Berrettini in good shape can beat anyone, as was seen in the second round of Wimbledon, when he didn’t go so far as to take world number 1 Jannik Sinner to a fifth set. From the Phoenix Challenger last March to the success on the Swiss clay of Gstaad, Matteo has won two ATP 250s and reached the final in Stuttgart, with a record of 20 wins and 6 losses (16-5 at ATP level). They are quick to point out that he has not yet beaten a top ten player, but the match won in two sets over Tsitsipas, champion this year in Monte Carlo and finalist in Barcelona, ​​has a significant specific weight. The disappointing 2023 did not allow him to book a ticket to the Paris Olympics, yet this could help him in preparing for the American tour.

Berrettini could rise again

With just 100 points to defend from now until the end of the season, The Hammer has everything to quickly climb the ATP rankings. Great news for us, terrible for the other national teams. The Italian Davis Cup champion with an extra Berrettini is by far the strongest and most complete team in the world on any surface, but on indoor hard courts it can become almost unplayable. After all, we all remember the promise made by Sinner & Co. during the Malaga party: “The next Cup will be with Matteo on the court”.