Berrettini, all’s well that ends well: he was forced to turn around, but somehow he owed them.
Start over. Reset. Rebirth. Return to his old self. That is, without mincing words, Matteo Berrettini’s primary goal. What is about to begin will not be, for him, just another season. It will be year zero, it will be the time when, now more than ever, he will have to prove what he is made of.
Fans should know better, how much heart and head is behind all that muscle. Many, however, complicit in the misadventures that dotted 2023, have forgotten. They no longer remember where the Roman was able to get to and have removed altogether, or so it would seem, all the milestones he cut over the course of his very bright career. His bandwagon has emptied, all the more so after he made his relationship with Melissa Satta official. Yet, we are certain that the space that many have left vacant will soon be filled again.
He has such a desire to redeem himself, the former number 1 of Italy, that he will not let go unless he can first, at least in part, return to his former glory. Identifying a new coach capable of guiding him on this mission was only the first of an endless series of steps: the crucial phase begins now and, if all goes as hoped, between him and Jannik Sinner it’s every man for himself.
Berrettini and that mea culpa between the lines
While he’s getting in shape, in between good news he also received an “apology” from someone who, a couple of weeks ago, had somehow “hurt” him. Do you remember the little skit involving the Roman hammer and former tennis player Nicola Pietrangeli at the SuperTennis Awards?
The former champion, upon taking the stage to congratulate the boys who had won the Davis Cup, allegedly addressed to Matteo-which is all to be verified, although the lip is quite clear-a somewhat obnoxious phrase. “And what are you doing here?” that is, he would have asked him, as if to imply that since he did not take the court in Malaga, he did not deserve to take the honor of that victory. Assuming Pietrangeli actually said that, he must have realized, once the grand gala was archived, his mistake.
So much so that, in the past few hours, he has corrected his course by spending some nice words for Berrettini. He did not formally apologize to him for that slip, but it’s as if he did: “Italy in the Davis Cup? With the return of Berrettini,” Pietrangeli said, “there is no more for anyone. We have a team that will start as the one to beat.” A great certificate of esteem, in short. Will he have accepted, Matteo, an apology from his predecessor?
