Matteo Berrettini is going through another difficult chapter of his career, this time experiencing a disappointing loss at the 2023 Stuttgart Open.
If tennis fans had a task to point their finger at the unluckiest player on the ATP Tour over the past year, it would certainly be Berrettini. Last year, the Italian missed the full clay-court season, but he managed to come back later in the year.
After he came back, Berrettini won two successive grass-court tournaments, but once again, he was hit by a spell of bad luck and forced to withdraw from Wimbledon, where he was the defending finalist.
Looking to forget all of that, he entered the 2023 season high in hopes. But once again, an injury forced him to miss almost the full clay-court season, withdrawing from the Roland Garros and all lead-up events.
But once the grass-court season was back, Berrettini knew that once again he could prove his qualities on his favorite surface, but that didn't happen. In the first round of the 2023 Stuttgart Open, the 27-year-old lost to fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego while being able to win only three games.
With all of that disappointment, and maybe also a little bit of added pressure because of his relationship that seems to be in the spotlight, Berrettini could not hold his emotions back as he was leaving the court.
He won the Stuttgart Open in 2019, and he triumphed at the event also when returned in 2022. That means that he was the defending champion this year, and yet to lose a match in Stuttgart in his tennis career.
The way he lost to Sonego, 1-6, 2-6, showed that he was certainly not 100% healthy, given his previous success at the tournament. It was a really painful loss for the experienced Italian player, and that was highlighted in his tears as he left the court.
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