Berrettini didn’t see it coming at all, but it happened anyway.
There is no doubt that he could have done more. Much more. But that’s the way it is now, and there is no point in thinking about what was. Better to focus, instead, on what could be and what will be, considering that the season has just begun and there is plenty of time to make up for it, that’s for sure.
Remains regret, though, because we all agree that the Australian Open performance did not do justice to Matteo Berrettini’s newfound courage. The Roman surrendered to a Holger Rune who was beatable, but who was more adept, unlike our hammer, at managing moments of tension and finalizing the most important balls. The Wimbledon 2021 finalist had numerous chances to win and come back, but was objectively unable to take advantage of them in the best possible way.
The first to be aware of this is himself, who in post-match interviews admitted the above difficulties. But at that moment Berrettini did not yet know that, in addition to the damage, there would be the mockery. He certainly could not have imagined, after all, that something unexpected would happen a few hours from now.
Berrettini, with numbers you don’t joke: unexpected but not impossible
Those who follow Berrettini know that there is one player, in the major circuit, to whom he is particularly close. We are talking about Lorenzo Sonego from Turin, who is also close friends, in turn, with Jannik Sinner.
That the Piedmontese player had great skills we knew, but in light of his disappointing performances over the past year we never, ever thought he would even make it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Here he is, instead, our Sonego, who after four incredible victories will play Ben Shelton for a chance to hit the semifinals of the Melbourne Slam. And there is much more at stake, to be fair, as is clear from the rankings and projections.
It goes without saying that, having achieved such a remarkable result in the land of kangaroos, Lorenzo will make an incredible leap in the world rankings. By hitting the quarters he has already moved to the virtual number 35 position, but there is more. Should he enter the penultimate act, he would rise to 27th place. Thus effectively surpassing his friend Berrettini, who is now at the 33rd step of the Atp ranking, and also Flavio Cobolli, who is instead number 34 in the ranking.
