Matteo Berrettini hasn't been on the ATP Tour that much this year dealing with multiple injuries but he's back to winning in style at Wimbledon.
Berrettini remembers Wimbledon fondly as he contested the final two years ago against Novak Djokovic. He might have lost the final but he went to Wembley the same day to watch Italy defeat England in the 2020 UEFA Euro final. His then-girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic famously recorded him celebrating the win after Italy won in penalty kicks.
That relationship is over now as it wasn't meant to be but Berrettini is back to winning ways at Wimbledon. He had a horror preparation month for the event losing badly in Stuttgart which prompted him to leave the court in tears. He didn't play any other event, arriving in London with a lot of doubt about his physical status but also his tennis.
Even when Berrettini played this year, his tennis wasn't looking very good. Add some turmoil in his private life to that and you have a perfect cocktail suitable for a name like La Miseria. With a win over Zverev, Berrettini seems to finally be back and he's looking pretty dangerous.
It feels unbelievable. Something that I didn’t think could happen. I didn’t play much this year but it must be something special about this place, I love to play here. Last year I missed it, unfortunately, and I still didn’t heal from that withdrawal. This tournament changed my career, my life, so it's so special to be here.
The Italian generally had some bad luck lately as he had a superb prep last year only to test positive for COVID days before the event. He missed it which was a devastating blow for him. This year wasn't that much better as he candidly admitted on the court following his win over Zverev.
I spent many days crying in my bed about not being able to play. Playing five days in a row is nothing. It's sad, but it's true. I missed playing, I missed competing, people that are close to me, they know about it.
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