By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Monday, July 1, 2024
The 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini on possibly facing Jannik Sinner in Wimbledon's second round and what makes the world No. 1 so special.
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Authoritative answers roar from Jannik Sinner’s racquet face.
Seeing—and hearing—the volatile velocity screaming from Sinner’s racquet once made Matteo Berrettini question reality.
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Now, Berrettini will face the Sinner fire in the match the world wanted to see.
The Wimbledon second-round all-Italian blockbuster between world No. 1 Sinner and Berrettini is on.
The top-seeded Sinner struggled with his footing early before closing the door on 110th-ranked Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in his Wimbledon opener on No. 1 Court.
Earlier, Berrettini was commanding at times, looking like a worthy challenger to the first Italian man in history to attain the world No. 1 ranking.
Berrettini beat Marton Fucsovics 7-6(3), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 today to reach the Wimbledon second round for the fifth consecutive appearance.
Two imposing Italian shotmakers will square off in the second round. Berrettini, who has played both alongside and against Sinner, knows exactly what to expect.
Watching Sinner demolish Aussie Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-0 sealing Italy’s first Davis Cup championship in 47 years with a 2-0 triumph over Australia in the Davis Cup final in Malaga, Spain last November, Berrettini found himself asking one question. Is this guy for real?
“We always forget how young [Sinner] is… I had the chance to go in Davis Cup, and it was unbelievable,” Berrettini told the media at Wimbledon today. “It was like we were looking at each other saying, Is this guy real?
“Because he wasn't missing. Hitting every ball full power. It was just the confidence that he built throughout the year was unbelievable. Just kept improving all the things that he is working on with his coaches. I think his secret is that he is really hungry for improvement. That's his secret. And the humbleness that he has about it. Yeah, just special.”.
The Italians are coming on strong with 2021 Wimbledon finalist Berrettini, 2023 semifinalist Sinner, playing his first major as world No. 1, and Lorenzo Musetti, last month’s Queen’s Club finalist, all showing their skills on turf.
“The Italian generation? I mean, it's unbelievable if you think about how many players there are,” Berrettini said. “You know, even to qualify for the Olympics, you have to be top 40, which some years ago would have been just crazy to think about…
“Sometimes I think I was kind of like the first one of this generation, you know? Like I used to be the young one, and now I'm the older one. But I think it's great for everybody: for the players, firstly, and then for tennis fans. There are so many in Italy. For the whole movement. I think it's really nice, and, I don't know how to just say, yeah.
"I think all the Italians are proud of what we're doing. Obviously, now Jannik is doing things that are unbelievable, but also the other guys are doing -- I mean, Musetti was in the Finals at Queen's again.”
Former Queen’s Club champion Berrettini bombed 11 aces against no double faults and denied nine of 10 break points in beating Fucsovics earlier today.
In their lone prior meeting, Sinner stopped Berrettini 6-4, 6-3, at the ATP 1000 in Canada last summer.
This potential second-round showdown popped from the page when the Wimbledon draw was made on Friday.
Davis Cup teammates Sinner and Berrettini are friends and share a mutual respect and explosive baseline power-based style. Both can terminate points with one declarative swing.
Stylistically, there are clear differences.
World No. 59 Berrettini, who favors the slice backhand on grass, is at his best running around the backhand and firing his damaging diagonal forehand. Sinner’s booming two-handed backhand is a weapon he can whip anywhere in the court. In his wins over Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner has stung his two-hander down the line effectively. Sinner also plays closer to the baseline than Berrettini robbing opponents of response time with his timing and pace.
Rome resident Berrettini points out that their personalities are vastly different. Sinner, who comes from the northern Italian town of San Candido near the German border, is more laid back and doesn’t sweat small stuff—whether it’s the clothes he’s given by sponsors Gucci and Nike or court assignments.
“Definitely we are different personalities. Not good or bad; just different,” Berrettini said of Sinner. “He's so funny because all the time he says, They [Gucci] telling me what to wear, and I wear it.
“I think that's his strength. He really is so natural. You can see that he doesn't really -- not that he doesn't care, but he goes with the flow. I think that's his main strength in this thing.”
The pair have been friends, practice partners, doubles partners and Davis Cup teammates.
Recalling their first meeting more than five years ago, Berrettini said he saw something special in Sinner from day one.
These days, Berrettini views Sinner as Italian inspiration.
“The first time that I play with him was in Monte-Carlo in 2019. I felt something special,” Berrettini said. “I'm not really good at saying, Oh, this kid 14 is going to be No. 1 in the world. I don't have this kind of sight like this.
“But I felt, Okay, this kid is going to be really, really good. It was impressive. Also, the way he was learning so fast and his attitude. It was just learning process all the time. And he is still doing that. I think that's why he went up so quickly in a way…
“Personally, [Sinner’s success] gives me so much energy to just try, like, to be there and to play against him and to be at his level. For me it's really useful.”