Matteo Berrettini has learned to forgive himself

“It may seem strange, but in the end I came back to love fatigue. Work on the tennis court. Moments that made up my life but I took for granted. I found joy in training again”. This is how Matteo Berrettini expressed himself on the eve of his debut at Wimbledon, the tournament that gave him one of the greatest emotions of his career, in an interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport.

Matteo Berrettini© Thomas Niedermueller / Stringer Getty Images Sport

The Italian ace is ready to return to the lead in the London Grand Slam, although the draw has probably put him in front of a very difficult second round against the number one in the world Jannik Sinner.

“I would have preferred to face him a little later, but in that case it will be an important test against a friend, a guy who plays divinely and is winning everything,” he said.

Matteo Berrettini has had many injuries

Matteo Berrettini started working with Francisco Roig: “From a technical and tactical point of view, from the way of working, it is very different from Vincenzo Santopadre.

Matteo Berrettini, Stuttgart 2024© Stream screenshot

When you start with a new person you have new impulses, new stimuli, and it’s important because you focus on different things. But from the character point of view they have a lot in common” he said. ‘The Hammer’ also recounted the difficulties he had to face in the last period: “I didn’t recognize myself.

Because I went through a time when I wasn’t myself. I realized how hard I am on myself. At one point I was stuck in a loop where I thought that to get out of a situation I had to be inflexible with myself.

Now I’ve learned to forgive myself and not feel guilty if things don’t go well. I have become more forgiving because we are giving ourselves time, waiting to find the energy to start again. Getting angry is wrong”.

The Italian scored important victories these weeks, the previous one played the final in Stuttgart against Jack Draper, and in this he reached the round of 16 of Halle, where he conceded with the American Marcos Girón.