Over the years, Italian tennis has produced many great players. From Francesca Schiavone to Fabio Fognini, these players are symbolic figures in Italian tennis’ history. The baton has now passed to Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner. The two players lie in the top-10 rankings in the world currently. Further, they have showcased tremendous consistency over the last season.

In particular, Berrettini had a breakthrough 2021 season. The 25-year-old reached the Wimbledon final last year, losing to Novak Djokovic in the summit clash. This year, he became the second highest-ranked Italian in men’s singles, catapulting to the sixth spot.

Recently, Serena Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, talked about the rise of the Italian and how he delivers on the big stage.

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Patrick Mouratoglou talks about Matteo Berrettini

In the latest episode of ‘Eye of the Coach’, Serena’s coach talked about what makes the Italian a great player.

Patrick said, “Matteo Berrettini is a player that believes in himself and refuses to lose. Watching him during the Australian Open, I was thinking that, wow, tennis-wise, in a way, if you look at the top guys, they all have that. Zverev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Berrettini – this fighting spirit and the belief in their ability to win even in the most difficult situations, is at the top.”

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Further, he talked about Berrettini’s backhand, which is his weak point. This was leveraged by Rafael Nadal in their semi-final clash at the Australian Open. Rafa consistently played to Matteo’s backhand and won the match in four sets.

Patrick explained how Berrettini does well to hide his weakness, “He masters the slice backhand, which is a good shot when you have a great forehand, because, when you have a very good slice backhand that stays low, the opponent cannot really attack, they have to play with more spin.”

On his mental strength and a will to win, Mouratoglou said, “I remember seeing him play at the UTS (when he had not played for some time) and it looked like he didn’t know whether the backhand would go in the court or not. But, having zero confidence, with no backhand, he ended up winning it, beating Stefanos in the final, by refusing to lose, thanks to his competitiveness. He found a way to win.”

Berrettini’s 2022 season

The 25-year-old began this year at the ATP Cup in Sydney, Australia. It wasn’t an ideal start for the Italian, as he lost two out of the three matches in the tournament.

Further, in the Australian Open, Berrettini managed a semi-final finish, losing to the eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the last-four clash. He is currently playing at the ATP 500 Rio Open. He has reached the quarterfinals and will face Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz next. Can the Italian win his first title of the season in Brazil? Let us know your views in the comments below.

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