“I’m here enjoying every second” – Berrettini relishing being on court at Wimbledon again

One of the stories of the tournament so far at Wimbledon 2023 is the resurgence of Matteo Berrettini.

The big-hitting Italian is a force to be reckoned with on grass when he’s fit and healthy, but he’s been far from that in 2023. With an abdominal injury plaguing his season, the 27-year-old has struggled to string together consecutive tournaments after losing in the first round of the Australian Open.

Berrettini even confessed that a few days prior to Wimbledon, he didn’t know if he’d be able to play.

Now, the former world No 6 is into the round of 16 of Wimbledon 2023, having sent two top 20 seeds home in consecutive rounds.

Something in the air for Berrettini at Wimbledon

Those who follow tennis will have known that it was a 50/50 call for Matteo Berrettini to compete in this year’s Wimbledon, following his withdrawal from Queens just a fortnight ago.

Speaking to the media following his straight sets victory over Alexander Zverev, however, Berrettini revealed just how close he’d come to not playing the Grand Slam:

“I wasn’t sure even if I was going to play. I flew here and I said maybe the atmosphere is going to help me a little bit. I was really not sure about it. Not because I didn’t want to. In order to play a slam, you have to be ready physically, emotionally, mentally. There are many things.

“The will is not enough. But then I have to say I did a great job with my team. We worked really hard. They let me decide,” Berrettini said. “Few days before, I thought, like, I’m not ready. But then I missed too many events in the last years. I couldn’t leave this place without trying. That’s what I said to myself.

“Like I said on court, I think this place has something special. It must be this place. I feel kind of energy I don’t feel anywhere else. So yeah.”

“I remember watching him play Roland Garros from my TV” – Nothing to lose for Berrettini against Alcaraz

Next up, Matteo Berrettini faces one of the toughest tasks in tennis—an in-form Carlos Alcaraz.

Thankfully, Berrettini has nothing to lose heading into the match, and appeared upbeat about his chances:

“In a way it’s what you want, right?” surmised Berrettini. “You want to play against the best players in the world.”

“Playing against Carlos, it’s always been like a pleasure, a fight, a great fight. I remember playing in Australia against him five sets. Three sets both times Vienna and Rio,” Berrettini recalled. “We always give our best. He’s No. 1 right now, so he’s the best player in the world. It’s going to be a great challenge. But I’m so glad that I have this kind of, like, opportunity right now.”

“I remember watching him play Roland Garros from my TVs. Now it’s going to be me against him. I’m really happy for that. I think this thing, yeah, is going to help me to go there and enjoy and find that extra energy that I was talking about.”

As Alexander Zverev said in his post-match comments after losing to Berrettini, the Italian could easily go on to win Wimbledon 2023 if he keeps playing the way he is. Perhaps being the underdog benefits the 27-year-old, and is exactly what Berrettini needs to defeat Alcaraz on Monday.

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