Italy’s Matteo Berrettini is hoping to use the upcoming United Cup as a stepping stone towards his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open next month.
The world No.16 heads the Italian team for the new tournament which is a mixed event taking place across three cities in Australia. Berrettini and his contingent will play their group matches in Brisbane against Brazil and Norway. If they win the group or finish as the fourth-highest-scoring team in the entire competition, they will progress to the knockout stages which will be held at the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.
“I love to play in Australia. I like the conditions. I like the crowd…and the energy,” Berrettini told the Australian Associated Press.
“I’ve always had good memories here. (Italy) also had a good run in the ATP Cup, reaching the final (in 2021), so it is nice to be here.
“Hopefully I am going to build up a lot of confidence from this event to have a long run in the Australian Open as well.”
The upcoming Australian Open will be Berrettini’s 18th appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam event. He is the first male player from his country to have reached the quarter-final stage or better at each of the four major events. In 2021 he was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon and the following year a semi-finalist at the Australian Open.
Two of the biggest threats to Berrettini’s title hopes are the formidable Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal who have won a staggering 43 Grand Slam titles between them. Since 2006, there has only been one occasion when the Australian Open wasn’t won by a member of the Big Three which was Stan Wawrinka in 2014.
Nevertheless, Berrettini believes he can break that stronghold after learning from his previous meetings against the duo.
“I think it is also about the experience. The more you play against them the more you learn how to beat them,” he said.
“When I played Novak at Wimbledon, I think it was his 30th slam. It was my first. Obviously he is a great player as well, so it wasn’t an easy task.
“I felt, and I feel, super honored to play against them. Hopefully next time I am going to win.
“I am feeling more confident and am having long runs in slams.”
The Italian’s optimism comes as he is yet to beat either Nadal or Djokovic on the Tour. Overall, he has a 0-6 record against them with four of his losses being against Djokovic.
Berrettini is scheduled to play his first United Cup match on Friday against Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro.
