Matteo Berrettini's eventful year might have concluded after the Italian withdrew from next week's Moselle Open.
Berrettini had a tight battle with Alexei Popyrin in the opening round of the ongoing Paris Masters. He lost the battle of the big servers 5-7, 6-7. Popyrin then upset Daniil Medvedev in the following round.
The final Masters 1000 tournament of the year in Paris was his first since announcing he and coach Francisco Roig, who had previously been a longtime member of Rafael Nadal's team, had split.
That announcement was surprising since Berrettini enjoyed some notable successes since Roig joined him at the start of the season, although their first tournament together did not occur until March because of an injury.
Roig was a clay court specialist during his career and would have gained additional expertise from working with Nadal, the greatest player on clay in tennis history, for so many years.
Therefore, Berrettini achieving some impressive results on clay in 2024 might have been expected, but the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up probably exceeded even his own expectations on the dirt this year.
Berrettini's first clay court tournament of the season and third since his comeback from injury occurred at the Moroccan Open in Marrakesh. Any rustiness did not stop him from securing the title by beating Roberto Carballes Baena in the final.
Further success followed in July. Berrettini claimed two more clay court tournaments and went on a 10-match winning streak at the Swiss Open in Gstaad and the Austrian Open in Kitzbuhel.
The 28-year-old had also reached a final the previous month on grass at the Stuttgart Open. Jack Draper, who wants to shake up Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner next year, defeated him in the final.
Admittedly, Berrettini's results since have not been as strong, but the achievement of winning three titles still made his and Roig's split very surprising. They seemed to work well as a partnership.
Berrettini's split with Roig likely played no significant role in his loss to Popyrin at the Paris Masters. The Italian played quite well throughout, but Popyrin stepped up and produced superb tennis in the big moments.
It has now been confirmed that Berrettini will not compete at the Moselle Open in Metz, one of the two final tournaments on the ATP calendar before the prestigious ATP Finals begins.
No official reason was given for Berrettini's decision not to play in Metz. It may just feel like a natural place to end his season after splitting with Roig. He can focus now on appointing a new coach for the off-season.
Italy is one of the eight teams in the upcoming Davis Cup Finals. Berrettini played a significant role in that with impressive performances in September's qualifiers when Jannik Sinner was absent after winning the US Open.
However, Berrettini was not on the Italian team for the Davis Cup Finals. The possibility of injuries or withdrawals for other reasons means his year is not officially over yet, but fans will likely next see him during the 2025 season.
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