Matteo Berrettini Details Locker Room Chat with Rafael Nadal After Australian Open 2022 Defeat

Matteo Berrettini is out of the Australian Open 2022. He lost to 6th seed Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park. The Italian lost in 4 sets, however, he pushed Nadal to his limits, giving a strong fight to the Spaniard. 

Even though the Italian lost to Nadal, the two share a good bond off the court. Berrettini sat with Nadal in the locker room, discussing the match. Later on, Berrettini opened up about his locker room conversation with Nadal. 

Berrettini created history by becoming the first Italian player to reach the semi-final at the Australian Open.

Berrettini and his locker room conversation with Nadal

In his post-match conference, Berrettini opened up about his experience playing for the first time under a closed roof. He said, “It was the first time that I played under the roof. It was different conditions. I struggled. In the beginning, I couldn’t really find the rhythm. It took me a while to adapt, but at the same time Rafa was playing really well.”

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The Italian elaborated on his locker room chat with the 2009 Australian Open champion. He said, “We chatted a little bit in the locker room. He told me that it was a great run, and I told him again, bravo. It’s just really nice for me to talk to him and have this kind of conversation, because I’m still learning from him, and it’s good.”

Currently ranked 7 in the world, Berrettini acknowledged his gameplay and asserted that his level is getting higher and higher.

Matteo Berrettini and his Austrian Open 2022 campaign 

Though Berrettini had a weak start at the ATP Cup 2022, he entered the Australian Open as a strong competitor. He started his Australian Open campaign against American Brandon Nakashima, winning the match in 4 sets. He next played against wildcard entrant Stefan Kozlov, winning the match in 4 sets, yet again.

After surviving the first 2 rounds, Matteo entered the 3rd round where he began to play against seeded players. He faced Spanish 31st seed, Carlos Alcaraz, in the 3rd round. Surviving the scare, he managed to win the match in 5 sets. The 4th round didn’t come as a relief for the Italian as he next faced 19th seed, Pablo Carreno Busta, beating the Spaniard in 4 sets. 

Getting through the 4 rounds, Berrettini entered the quarter-finals, facing 17th seed Gael Monfils. Holding on to his nerve, he once again managed to survive the French scare, beating him in 5 sets. However, it was in the semi-final that his dream run came to a halt when he faced 6th seed, Rafael Nadal, getting stunned 3-6,2-6,6-3,3-6. 

Matteo Berrettini lost in the semi-finals of the Australian Open 2022. However, the Italian is in good touch and is expected to give some out-of-the-box performance during the season.

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