“I Really Wanted To Play With Tsitsipas”: Matteo Berrettini Reflects on Last Year’s Retirement After Fourth Round Win at Australian Open 2022

Matteo Berrettini, back on tour after an injury and a recent bout of food poisoning, won his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets. He next faces Gael Monfils, who seemed to be in excellent form during his fourth-round match.

Matteo Berrettini is back in fine form

Berrettini won the match against the No. 19 seed Spaniard 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4. He had to save a breakpoint after breaking Carreno Busta in the 11th game. His serve dominated the second set where he won the tie-breaker with three consecutive service aces.

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Carreno Busta gave a strong fight, but he failed to convert crucial points. He has had some more time on-court, compared to Berrettini. This seemed to take a toll on him as the match progressed and he seemed to tire in the third one.

Berrettini’s special win

Berrettini has a difficult draw at the Australian Open 2022. He had a four-set match against Brandon Nakashima in the first round. He also spent over four hours on court in a gritty five-setter against up-and-coming Spanish youngster Carlos Alcaraz, in the third round.

This win is more special for the Italian as retired from last year’s Australian Open, at this stage, because of an abdomen injury. In his post-match interview, he said that last year was really tough for him. “I really wanted to play but my team forced me not to and I understood that I couldn’t play with a tear in my ab.”

Last year, the Italian injured himself during his third-round match against Karen Khachanov. Even though he won the match in straight sets, he required a medical timeout. He returned to seal a 7-6(1) 7-6(5) 7-6(5) victory.

However, he was forced to announce his retirement ahead of his fourth-round match with Stefanos Tsitsipas as his medical team advised him not to ignore the injury. He said, “Last year I really wanted to play with Tsitsipas, but my team convinced me that I couldn’t play.”

“In a way, it helped me, because everything happens for a reason and I was motivated to come back as soon as possible. much to the tournament.” He added. (Quotes translated using Google translate)

Berrettini accepted that this break helped him put things in perspective.

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