Matteo Berrettini and the return to Davis: “It felt like the first time.”
The words of Matteo Berrettini after the victory with Joao Fonseca
After almost two years, Matteo Berrettini è returned to play for Italy in the Davis Cup, overcoming Joao Fonseca in two sets (6-1 7-6) and leading the Azzurri to a win over Brazil. " It was a great feeling that I had been missing for a long time for so many reasons,” admitted the Roman in the press conference. “It was similar to a first time in Davis, but not being as young as Joao I knew what to expect from the match, how to start and how to stay focused on the important things: that è was the key in the first set. I am really happy to be here, to have played and to have enjoyed this atmosphere".
On his opponent, nicknamed 'little Sinner: "I didn’t know what to expect, we have never even trained together with Joao, but I have seen videos of him and I have to say he è really good. When I was 18 I didn’t even have an ATP point. He has taken a different path and I am sure he will do better and better, he will have a great future ahead of him and I have told him that on the court as well. I felt a little bit of extra pressure because losing to a guy of that age and moreover at home was not going to be easy to explain, but I didn't think about it once I got on the field. I only thought about giving my best and è what I managed to do".
L'azzurro risked having to play the third set: "I was sorry, I would have preferred to win it right away, I realized I double-faulted and then he played some good points. At 4-0 in the tie-break at first I told myself that I was going to win it in the third, then I looked at the guys who were all up screaming and I said to myself 'no, no, let's still stay here'; Winning the next two points I felt that I was back in the match. This è what we do: keep fighting, think about the positive things and try to do the things that pay off and then play aggressive and play solid at the right moments".
"There was joy, a desire to shout with the people who watched the game. It was a shout of liberation, of happiness; for so many things that happened that I don't want to talk about anymore. It's been a year since I came here to take 'from the outside' the warmth of the public and today I took it''from the inside'. Goal achieved. I am happy with the result and my level, but it's a team competition and it's important to think about the common goal that's the result, even playing bad, even being bad, the important thing is to bring the result home. Then performances like today’s, important and solid, with a great attitude and a lot of good emotions give something more that makes me even more happy" concluded Berrettini.
