Berrettini Reveals His Brother Convinced Him To Play Tennis

| by Kadir Macar

From sibling influence to tennis stardom, Matteo Berrettini shared the story of how his brother Jacopo ignited his love for the sport at just seven years old.

Growing up, Matteo Berrettini and his younger brother Jacopo were quite different from one another. While Matteo was a self-proclaimed "nerd," Jacopo had an insatiable appetite for sports. Little did they know that their contrasting interests would lead them on a path to jointly discover and nurture a life-long passion for tennis.

At the age of seven, Jacopo persuaded Matteo to pick up a tennis racket and give the sport a try. This early introduction proved to be transformative, as Matteo quickly fell in love with the game. Over the years, the brothers forged an unbreakable bond, sharing both the highs and lows of life, and nurturing each other's strengths.

In an insightful interview with Style Corriere, Berrettini revealed that it was his brother who brought him to tennis but also opened up about a bonding moment that they had after his retirement at the 2023 Mexican Open in Acapulco.

"I owe Jacopo so much because he was the one who convinced me to play tennis when I was seven years old. We are different, I'm a bit of a nerd, he's always sick of sports, but we fit in well. And we share everything, both good and bad times: in Acapulco, when I thought I had seriously hurt myself, we spent hours lying on the bed staring at the ceiling."

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The Italian also spoke about who are his friends other than his brother and fellow players on the ATP Tour.

"The old ones are always the same even if we rarely see each other. Thanks to tennis, then, I met people who work in other areas but with whom I have a lot in common, such as Alessandro Borghi and Marracash. We have different lives and maybe that's why we can talk about everything from futile things to the deepest ones."

Break Point, Neflix's tennis show that will be renewed for the second season, was the main topic in the tennis world for some time, and Berrettini was also one of the players that appeared on the show. Speaking about his appearance, he said:

"For days the cameras filmed my emotions, joys and disappointments. Seeing each other again was strange because there is also my ex in the series but I'm happy with how they represented me."

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