No one thought it was possible: Berrettini twist.
He was supposed to take the court on January 15 for the first round of the Australian Open against Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Matteo Berrettini, as you may recall, never played that match: he withdrew without even trying, because he was certain that his physique could not yet handle certain rhythms and so much pressure.
The Roman had then wisely taken another two months to determine what to do. In the meantime, he worked hard and reappeared in March at the Phoenix Challenger: here he grabbed the final, only to be beaten in two sets by Nuno Borges. From then on, between ups and downs he more or less regained the continuity he had lacked for so long. And in this string of matches he has also strung 3 more Atp titles, confirming, gradually but very incisively, that he is on fire again.
The decisive confirmation came in Malaga, at the Davis Cup Finals. Matteo won, with heart and head, three crucial matches, dragging the Italian national team, together with Jannik Sinner, toward the victory of the second consecutive salad bowl. An extremely satisfying year, then, for the Roman champion, who at 28 years old proved that he still has many cartridges to fire and many dreams in the drawer. His courage and determination should, in short, be rewarded.
Berrettini, from the stables to the stars: what a season!
And so, at the end of a season that had begun with a retirement that left a bitter taste in his mouth, Berrettini even got himself an Atp Awards. In recent days he had been nominated for the award to be given to Comeback player of the year 2024, and now we know for sure that he is the tennis player who won it.
This award is given to the player who had a particularly brilliant year after a difficult season, which is exactly, then, what happened to the Roman hammer. His performances were incredible and so was his climb up the rankings: from the back of the world rankings – he had slipped to 140th place – he returned to the 34th step of the rankings.
“I’m really happy to win the Comeback Player of the Year award,” Berrettini commented on the good news, ”Thank you so much for the support. It was a great season, a great effort for me and my team. Obviously I am very happy for the results we have achieved and I look forward to returning to the court in 2025 to achieve even more success. “
