Matteo Berrettini surprised Paolo Bertolucci

Matteo Berrettini surprised Paolo Bertolucci

Matteo Berrettini has surprised Paolo Bertolucci. The former champion made this clear to the Gazzetta dello Sport: “We must welcome with great satisfaction Matteo Berrettini’s return to victory after very tribulated months, because it returns to the circuit and to our tennis a champion who, at the height of his potential, can certainly be in the small group of the world’s top players. The way he brought the never-ending derby with Sonego, which even stretched over three days, to his side, gives hope that II dark period is behind him and that Santopadre’s pupil can soon return to the levels shown in the brightest period of his career. Honestly, his level of tennis surprised me, remembering the tragic day in Stuttgart three weeks ago, moreover against the same opponent.”

“It is true that the prolongation of the match over three days may have favored him, because it ended up taking the factor of his physical condition out of contention, but it had been a long time since I had seen him so centered in his two fundamental strokes, the disruptive serve and the snapping forehand,” Bertolucci continued.

“To this must be added that Sonego was a rival who was anything but submissive, and indeed put a definitely high tennis quality on the court: in short, Matteo passed a probing test, enhanced by his newfound mental toughness. When it came to closing the match, in fact, he did not let himself get caught up in the anxiety of the long break, showing coolness and lucidity,” concluded Panatta’s former doubles partner.