Matteo Berrettini says what he thinks of Italian tennis without Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti

Follow us on Google Discover

There was a familiar face was in among the ebullient Italian fans to watch their final Davis Cup tie against Netherlands. 

The new US Open champion Jannik Sinner was sat beside his Italian teammates on home soil in Bologna to support his compatriots. 

Despite defeat to the Dutch, the defending champions became the first team to progress to the eight-team finals in November, topping their group as a result of Brazil’s win over Belgium.

The lack of Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti didn’t appear to cause any major wobbles for Italy as they won both opening ties against Belgium and Brazil credit to a Matteo Berrettini double in the singles.

Matteo Berrettini praises Italian tennis even without world number one Jannik Sinner

The event saw a somewhat depleted Davis Cup field all round, with the majority of nations opting, either out of choice or necessity, for a second-string team.

Sinner has barely got over his fairytale in New York, while Musetti also skips the event out of fatigue after his bronze medal at the Olympics.

As the two high-flyers of Italian tennis were assigned to the benches, the former Italian number one Berrettini picked up the slack with relative ease.

“I’m really happy, really proud of what we’re doing,” Berrettini told the Davis Cup, despite defeat to the Netherlands.

“The team is really big, a lot of strong players. We didn’t play with the best two ranking guys and we qualified. So it means that Italian tennis is really healthy.”

Can Matteo Berrettini climb back into the top 20?

A six-month hiatus from the ATP tour frustrated the former world number six after a number of years competing at the top of the man’s game.

Berrettini appeared in the Wimbledon final in 2021 before reaching the last four of the Australian Open the following year.

Since however, injuries and illness have disrupted his form, forcing an impressive comeback this year.

Returning to the tour in March, Berrettini has since shot back into the top 50 and picked up three titles this year.

Losing just seven of his 32 matches, the big Italian is back competing at the top level. Providing injuries remain kept at bay, Berrettini’s performance at the Davis Cup this week will only fill him with more confidence.