It’s remarkable to consider Matteo Berrettini cracked the top 10 less than 18 months after being outside the top 100.
But when you examine the Italian’s unconventional tennis journey, it seems somewhat on-brand.
X-factor
The world No.8 is currently the highest-ranked of eight Italian men inside the ATP top 100.
The average age of the seven below him is 27.4 with an average height of 186.6cm, yet Berrettini skews considerably younger (24) and taller (196cm), and unlike the majority of his compatriots prefers hard courts over clay.
The result? A modern player with an attacking mindset and a game based around a monstrous serve and forehand.
A buoyant on-court presence hints at his joy for competing, perhaps fostered by his unique development.
He only earned his first ranking points during his first full season playing professionally at age 19, and did not make his ATP main-draw debut until 2017, aged 21.
His first Grand Slam main draw came at AO 2018.
“The goal was to help develop a boy with a passion for tennis into a grounded adult with a sustainable career,” detailed a New York Times piece.
“(Coach Vincenzo) Santopadre … held Berrettini off the court while other boys practiced full time and travelled the world to play junior tournaments. Santopadre steered him toward his schoolwork, his family and his friends when he yearned to compete.”
On court
Once competing regularly, Berrettini flourished.
Not long after cracking the top 100 in May 2018, he won his first career title in Gstaad. Career title No.2, in Budapest in April 2019, saw him enter the top 50.
He thrived on grass that year, triumphing in Stuttgart, reaching the Halle semifinals and advancing to the fourth round at Wimbledon – his first appearance in the second week of a Slam.
He then powered into the US Open semifinals, giving eventual champion Rafael Nadal a major scare in the first set before the Spaniard prevailed.
By now Berrettini was inside the top 15, closing 2019 strongly with semifinals in Shanghai and Vienna to debut at the season-ending ATP Finals.
Injury limited him to two matches in 2020 before coronavirus shut the sport down.
Notable stat
Berrettini became the first Italian semifinalist in the US Open’s 41-year history at Flushing Meadows; the previous Italian semifinalist, in 1977 at Forest Hills, was Corrado Barazzutti – Berrettini’s Davis Cup captain.
Off court
Born in Rome, Berrettini now lives and trains in Monte Carlo.
Yet during the sport’s coronavirus suspension, he spent a large chunk of time in Florida – the home of WTA star and girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic.
He said …
After reaching the US Open 2019 quarterfinals: “(Former Italian player Adriano Panatta was) the first one that told me you're going to serve like 220 kilometers per hour. I was 16 when I heard that. I was, like, I don't know. If you say that, I'm going to trust you (smiling).”
After winning Gstaad 2018: "I played the best week of my life, easily. I hope this will be the first step in a great career for me.”
Experts are saying …
“He’s built like a rugby player or strong safety linebacker type. But he also knows what he’s doing out there. He’s not just a bully on the court. He’s becoming a top-flight player.”
- former world No.1 and Grand Slam champion Jim Courier