Matteo Berrettini, another cold shower: “Useless to delude oneself.”

Matteo Berrettini, another ice shower: “Useless to delude oneself.”

Matteo Berrettini toward forfeit also for the Internazionali d’Italia in Rome. It is the same coach Vincenzo Santopadre to update the Gazzetta dello Sport on the condition of the Roman athlete, who is out of action due to an abdominal problem.

“Of course now his mood is not the best. You know he is a very introspective guy, who gets to the bottom of things. Last year after the operation he came back and won two tournaments, so it was a continuous stop and go. Sooner or later he had to pay the price.”

For Rome, the situation is not rosy: “Right now it’s more no than yes. No point in deluding ourselves. Then if things proceed more quickly than expected we will be overjoyed to be able to play. Matteo was hoping to be there in Munich and Madrid, where he has already played a final. He is gnawing, no doubt about it…. To start doing physical therapy, you have to understand how the injury is healing. It’s a type of injury he’s had before, so on the one hand he’s calmer because he knows what to expect.”

The particular physical conformation makes him prone to stoppages, “Thin legs and a very developed trunk, but with the game he has, Berrettini is more exposed to physical problems. Now it just takes a lot of patience.”