LONDON: A 62-minute loss where you win only three games in a match might sound like a disaster. But Matteo Berrettini has a different take on his latest defeat.
The debut of the 23-year-old at the ATP Finals saw him get pushed aside by Novak Djokovic. A five-time champion who is currently in a battle with Rafael Nadal for the year-end No.1 spot. The form similar to what took him to the semi-finals of the US Open was absent. An all too familiar trend for Berrettini when he plays the big Three.
He record against the trio, which also features Roger Federer, now stands at 0-3 and no sets won. He won just five games against Federer in Wimbledon before fairing slightly better against Nadal in Flushing Meadows. An indication of how the Italian fairs compared to his peers, but it isn’t all bad.
“Rafa and Roger, they are part of the three best ever in the history of tennis. So for sure, I was expecting to have a tough match.” Berrettini said during his press conference.
“I learned a lot from Roger and Rafa. For sure I’m going to learn a lot from him (Djokovic).” He added.
The defeat seems to have little impact on Berrettini’s confidence as he seeks to become the first man from his country to win a match at the event. He enters at the end of what has been a breakthrough season where he has scored his first five victories over top 10 players. Even more significant it that he is the only player on the ATP Tour to have won ten or more matches on three different surfaces this year – hard (18), clay (12) and grass (12).
“We were playing flat, fast, and he was moving better than me, was playing better than me,” Berrettini said of Djokovic.
“So it was tough to win the points. But I think I played really good — I mean, not really good, but a good match. I’m feeling pretty confident.”
“It’s just accepting the loss, and for sure I’m looking forward to playing the next matches.”
Berrettini’s experience of the season-ending event is certainly limited. Last year he was there in the form of a spectator along with the ATP University scheme that young players are a part of. He is one of three players making their London debut in 2019 along with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev.
Djokovic’s debut at the event was back in 2007 when it was held in the Chinese city of Shanghai. An occasion he remembers like it was yesterday.
“I was happy that I was there, of course.” Djokovic reflected. “I was very proud to be part of these elite eight guys, but it’s an environment that is kind of new to you. Even though it’s a tennis court, a tennis match, it’s still different, knowing that you’re there for the first time and that you’re going to play against a top-10 player every match in the group.”
“It’s a lot of pressure mentally, you know, that you have to deliver your best.”
Despite losing to Djokovic, Berrettini could still do better than the Serbian in his ATP Finals debut. To do so, he needs to win one set, which Djokovic couldn’t achieve 12 years ago.
