Matteo Berrettini hoped to get a positive result in the Masters 1000 in Shanghai, a tournament that fits well with his powerful style of play and where he reached the semi-finals in 2019. The Italian ace - who had to retire in Tokyo due to an abdominal injury - recovered in time for the seasons eighth Masters 1000 and defeated dangerous Australian Christopher O'Connell at his debut.
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In the second round, the 2021 Wimbledon finalist had a big chance against a version of Holger Rune that was far from 100%. The young Danish ace is certainly not going through the best of his career and has changed several coaches in recent months. Matteo broke into the ninth game of the first set and took the lead, before suffering Runes comeback in the second and third sets just as it had done in Cincinnati during the summer.
Berrettinis season - which aims to be a seeded player at the 2025 Australian Open - can be considered positive thanks to the titles won in Marrakech, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel. At the same time, it is worth noting that the champion from Rome has never gone beyond the second round in the Masters 1000 and Grand Slam tournaments this year. Matteo will have to improve from this point of view to approach the Top 20 of the ATP ranking.
The former Top 10 hoped to get a better result in Shanghai, penultimate Masters 1000 of the season before Paris-Bercy. The former World No.6 is not playing his best tennis, also because of some physical problems. Berrettini had a calf problem that conditioned him to the US Open, before dragging Italy into the Davis Cup in September. The abs forced him to retire in Tokyo during the match against young FrenchArthur Fils, who would win the tournament.
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A funny scene
Before playing his match against Rune, the Italian ace was the protagonist of a very funny conversation with the mascotat the RolexShanghai Masters. Matteo was very kind confirming to be a really nice and polite guy.
One fact more than any other testifies to the difficulties of Berrettini in recent years, now consistently out of the world top 30. Berrettini does not reach the third round of a Masters 1000 even from Montecarlo 2023 and the Italian in this year and a half has only got 6 victories out of 17 games. Numbers certainly not worth a former number 6 in the world as the Italian tennis player. If we only see the concrete - as reported on the Instagram page of 'Quindici zero' - Berrettini does not reach the third round of a tournament even from Indian Wells 2022 and the numbers are really worrying.
Meanwhile, the Italian ace won minor tournaments but still struggles in the Masters 1000 tournaments, also involved a draw that - not being no longer top of the series - puts him immediately against the best. The goal is to finish the season in the best way and get into the top 30 as soon as possible, as stated several times. Speaking of this tournament, Matteo said after the first round: "Time flies. Of course I have good memories, its a fantastic competition and Ive improved even more. I hope there is another big meeting coming".
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Berrettini has found joy
The most positive aspect is that Matteo has found his desire to play again after last years difficulties, culminating in an ankle injury during the 2023 US Open. "Yeah, it's been, I mean, last year was really, really tough, one of the worse years of my career and my life as well, Berrettini said. "Because obviously that's what we do.""When you're not able to do your job and what you like to do, then it's always a struggle.So I'm really appreciating every moment that I have to spend on court and to perform and give my best. I know it's a process," the Italian said. "I know, you know, like I did a great job this year to build up again my ranking, and I'm feeling good, so hopefully a great end of the season as well he added.
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The main goal of the former number 6 - in addition to improving his ranking - is to convince Italian captain Filippo Volandri to call him for the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga in November. Italy lifted the trophy last year, but Berrettini had to miss the event due to his ankle injury. Italy have a lot of strong players behind Jannik Sinner. Matteo will have strong competition from players like Lorenzo Musetti, Flavio Cobolli, Matteo Arnaldi and Lorenzo Sonego.
