Matteo Berrettini’s Journey From Nothing in 2015 to World No. 6 in 2022

Matteo Berrettini has been one of the most looked upon players in the current lot of tennis athletes. The Italian sensation till date has won a total of 5 singles titles and has been a 3-time runner-up, one of which being at the 2021 Wimbledon. Being a semifinalist at the 2022 Australian Open, Matteo Berrettini reached his career-high ranking, becoming the World No. 6. But a question that remains unanswered for many is, how did Berrettini reach here?

The initial days on Berrettini

Berrettini started playing in the ATP Challengers in 2014. However, the Italian officially turned pro in 2015. Reaching the semifinals in an ITF event in Greece in 2015. He entered the ATP rankings as World No. 1674. Playing a number of other ITF and ATP Challenger tournaments, he ended the year as World No. 525.

Going further, Berrettini made his ATP tour debut at the 2017 ATP Masters 1000 Rome, losing in the first round against fellow Italian Fabio Fognini. Playing a number of events in the following months, Berrettini made his debut Grand Slam appearance at the 2018 Australian Open.

Even though he was struggling to make it to the later stage in the main draws, he refused to lose hope. Continuously playing tournaments one after the other, it was just prior to the 2018 Roland Garros that Berrettini entered the Top 100. Having a confidence boost, he went on to reach the third round of the French Open.

Even though he was struggling to reach the later rounds, he made a sudden boom, winning his maiden ATP Tour-level title in 2018. Beating Roberto Bautista Agut in the finals, Matteo won his first-ever ATP tour-level title at the ATP 250 Gstaad.

The rising years (2019-2020)

Berrettini kicked off his 2019 season as the World No. 52. He started his season with a second-round loss in Aukland. He further faced a first-round exit against Tsitsipas at the Australian Open. However, still going strong, he next played at the ATP 250 Sofia Open. Even though he faced a semifinal loss, it had much more in the bag. Reaching the semifinals, Matteo entered the Top 50 in the ATP rankings.

Further, he won his second career title in Budapest, beating Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic in three sets. He also reached the finals of the very next tournament he played in Munich, being outplayed by Cristian Garin in the finals.

Even though he suffered third and second-round exits in Rome and Roland Garros respectively, he soon made a comeback, winning the Stuttgart Open. Later in the year, he faced a 4th round loss to Federer at Wimbledon and a semifinal loss to Nadal at the US Open. Going strong throughout the year, he further reached the semifinals in Masters Shanghai and Vienna.

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Reaching the two semifinals, Berrettini celebrated a major feat by entering the Top 10 for the first time in his career. Being the World No. 8, Berrettini also played at the Nitto ATP Finals, losing in the Round-robin stage.

Like every other tennis player, Berrettini too limited his 2020 season to a handful of tournaments. In total, he played a total of 6 tournaments, 3 of which were the Grand Slams. Not playing many tournaments also had a diverse effect on Berrettini’s ranking. The Italian, who was the World No. 8, had now dropped 2 places, to end the year as World No. 10.

The dream run of Matteo Berrettini (2021-till date)

2021 has been one of the most successful seasons of Matteo’s career to date. He started his season with a quarterfinal loss in Antalya, followed by a loss against Daniil Medvedev in the finals of the ATP Cup.

Keeping his form intact, he went on to win his next career at the ATP 250 Belgrade. He further reached the finals of the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid. Not satisfied so soon, he reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, before finally winning the ATP 500 Queen’s Club. The title win was followed by his first-ever Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. He also reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 US Open.

Having a decent season in 2021, he started his 2022 season as the World No. 7. He entered the season at the ATP Cup. However, what caught everyone’s attention was his run at the Australian Open. Being in form, the 25-year-old showed no mercy to his opponents, as he went on sailing in the initial rounds. However, his run came to a halt in the semifinals, where he was outplayed by Rafael Nadal. Nadal went on to become the champion. Even though Matteo lost in the semifinals, he received a bigger reward than just the A$895,000 prize money. Reaching the last four, Berrettini reached his career-high ranking of World No. 6.

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Since his Australian Open run, Matteo has played a total of 3 tournaments, suffering early-round exits in all of them. Berrettini who arrived in Miami in the hope of regaining his form, made a last moment withdrawal from the tournament, citing right-hand surgery.