After the defeat in Vienna, the Italian announced his separation from coach Roig: in 2024 he won in Marrakech, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel, now he is aiming for the French tournament to have a place among the top seeds in Australia
After the defeat against the Russian Khachanov at the ATP 500 in Vienna, Matteo Berrettini‘s season is not over yet. 2024, the year of Matteo’s relaunch after an endless series of physical problems, led the blue to win three ATP titles out of four finals played. The successes in Marrakech, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel (with the final lost in Stuttgart against Draper) are certainly significant for the former Wimbledon finalist, who has suffered in recent seasons. Results that are enough (even for some lump sums), at this moment, to play the Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy. It will be the last great event for the Roman, who will try to reach the goal he set himself at the beginning of the season: playing the Australian Open as the top seed. Berrettini could re-present his strong candidacy in 2025 to return at least to the top 20, if he were to be healthy for the whole year. Perhaps helped by a new coach in addition to Alessandro Bega: the Roman has in fact just announced via his social profiles that he has stopped working with the coach who started working with him in December 2023. “I wanted to let you know that Francisco Roig and I have decided to end our professional relationship. I can only thank him for all the work done this year, the commitment and the results obtained. A professional experience that made me grow a lot, both on and off the pitch. I wish him the best for the future, and I wish him the best of luck. Thank you”. At the moment it is not known who his new coach will be. But the future is still to be written.
This 2024, despite the withdrawal from Tokyo due to abdominal problems, the defeat in Stockholm and the quarter-final defeat in Vienna, has been a positive year, especially due to the uncertainty that Matteo has always had about his physical condition. Berrettini has demonstrated, once again, that on grass he remains one of the best players in the world. Defeated by Sinner in the second round of Wimbledon in one of the best matches of the season, The Hammer hinted that by improving his condition he can return to being competitive at the Championships, even to reach the end. Berrettini also did reasonably well on clay, taking home three tournaments and leaving behind the regret of not having competed at very high levels (out in Madrid, Rome and Paris) again due to physical problems (and also the after-effects of tonsillitis). The top 20 is anything but a utopia for a player who was number 6 in the world and who – still today – has one of the best forehands on the circuit. Berrettini, who has never won an ATP title on hard courts and who only boasts the Naples 2022 final (lost against Musetti), must make the leap in quality on hard courts. Finishing the season here and showing up recharged in view of the Australian Open (the first major event of 2025) could represent the right way to resume the great journey that was abruptly interrupted in the second part of 2022 and throughout 2023. Matteo knows how to do it in Melbourne: in 2022 he reached the semi-final (then beaten by Nadal), after eliminating Carlitos Alcaraz. He was the first Italian able to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open. Then Sinner arrived and took over the world. But at 28 years old Matteo has plenty of time to write a second half of his career that could be even more beautiful than the first.
Font: Gazzetta.it
