“Get me off the chair – you can’t see”

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That’s it! Matteo Berrettini is at his wits’ end. “Get me off my seat! That’s not to watch,” the 26-year-old shouts when he also misses the Challenger tournament in Phoenix.

He is eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Russian Alexander Shevchenko (22/ATP 101) in a second-rate competition. The number 23 in the world is wavering.

The bitter three-set bankruptcy (4:6, 6:3, 3:6) suits the lean year of the very talented Roman. Besides an advance in the quarterfinals in Acapulco (Mex), there were only serious setbacks. Both at the Australian Open and most recently in Indian Wells it was over after a match.

The man, who was named “Revelation of the Year” by the renowned Italian newspaper “Gazzetta dello Sport” in 2019 and was in the Wimbledon final in 2021, has recently come under a lot of criticism. Especially on a personal level, because he has recently been together with model and presenter Melissa Satta (37) – the ex-wife of footballer Kevin-Prince Boateng (36).

In the “Repubblica”, Berrettini was recently forced to defend himself publicly: “This relationship does not distract from my work. I find it disrespectful to refer to them as such.”

“People always exaggerate”

With Flavia Pennetta (41), a prominent colleague comes to his rescue. The winner of the 2015 US Open finds clear words on “Fanpage.it”: “These kinds of comments hurt. You feel judged when you hear such harsh words. People always exaggerate.”

On the sports crisis, Pennetta says: “We athletes know that we can’t always perform 100 percent. But people don’t understand that this is hard work for us and that we are the first to want to play well.”

Berrettini has another chance to find his way out of the creative crisis this week at the ATP 1000 tournament in Miami. There he is placed as number 19 – and initially enjoys a bye. In round two he will meet the Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan (26/ATP 89) or the American Mackenzie McDonald (27/ATP 55).

It is also a chance for Berrettini to silence his critics – both those outside and those within him.

Source : Blick