"I would like to play against Rafa rather than Novak at Wimbledon" admits Berrettini
ATP
Last year, Matteo Berrettini played in the Wimbledon Championships final, and this year, he will try to improve his result and win the title.
Novak Djokovic stopped the young Italian in the final. Despite winning the first set in a tie-break, Berrettini lost the match. Djokovic beat him 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to lift a trophy at SW19.
Now, 12 months later, Berrettini was asked if he would pick Rafael Nadal or Djokovic as his final opponent this year. Berrettini admitted that he would like to avoid last year's champion as he thinks beating Djokovic is "one of the toughest things you can ever do."
"Probably beating Djokovic in a Slam is like one of the toughest things you can ever think to do. Last year, he won three Slams and made the finals in the fourth so it's not really easy to find a way."
"But one thing is for sure, every time that I play him in a Slam, I feel I am getting closer and closer because, obviously, the more you play against someone, the more you learn about him."
Despite losing to Djokovic last year, Berrettini doesn't think about it only as a loss. He knows it gave him something as he improved as a player.
"Also every time I play against these players, I am improving, even if I am losing a match. So I think it's about time. Last year was my first ever Grand Slam final, for him [it] was the 30th I think."
While Berrettini would certainly want to play Nadal on the grass courts in London, he also recognized the Spaniard's clay-court qualities, saying he would certainly rather play against Djokovic at Roland Garros.
"That's a tough question. I think on grass Novak for the way I play is tougher to beat, but obviously if you ask me ‘[do] you want to play Novak or Rafa in Paris?’ I would say Novak."
"It depends about the tournament. [I would like to face] Rafa over Novak right now. Then I'm not saying that it's going to be easy to beat Rafa there, but I think Novak will be tougher."
