Because Berrettini played doubles in the Davis Cup. Gambling doesn’t pay – Corriere.it

The extra man is the blunt weapon of the decisive double. At the end of the day, with Italy having just been defeated 2-1 by Canada in the Davis Cup semi-final, Matteo Berrettini is a restless soul: I can do everything better: serve, return, hit the ball. I know well. I have no regrets, I was asked to help the team and I did, knowing I wasn’t in the best shape of my life. But I wanted another result, to have trouble sleeping.

In the final against Australia, Auger-Aliassime’s wild card Canada (entered at the outbreak of war in place of reigning champion Russia), driving force also paired with Pospisil, Italy with the orb stars instead stops here, like eight years ago when we collided with Federer’s Switzerland, sure of having a bright future thanks to her boys but also the problem of doubles, which already emerged last year when the finals were held in Turin. The resentment at Bolelli calfwho trained on Saturday morning, can be diplomatic and at the same time credible: Simone is 37 years old, Fognini is 36, Matteo will never be a double player, improvising bears no fruit.

Malaga returns to tennis a Sonego revitalized by the blue, capable of beating Tiafoe (n.19) and Shapovalov (n.18) yesterday, brilliant and crazy southpaw, the working class once again gone to heaven (7-6, 6- 7, 6-4) at the top of a 3h14′ marathon that Sonny’s grenade spirit — in suffering, one exalts — kept alive until the Canadian’s final collapse. At that moment Berrettini was still the chief claque (He touched his chest to indicate my heart, he cheered me on: you are a warrior! You are an animal! This team is a family for me, the Turinese is moved), even if some signal should have put us on right track: the appearance of coach Santopadre with the suit of the national teamMatteo himself in shorts during the single lost by Musetti with Auger-Aliassime (6-3, 6-4), still too far (like Fritz on Thursday) from the current possibilities of the local talent in the presence of the experience of the top 10.

With the score level, would it have made sense to risk Berrettini in doubles even without Bolelli’s problem? No, the harmony and dynamics of the couple, as in a love story, are everything; Matthew and Fognini they have no history (ninth match of their career played together, 6 wins and 3 defeats), the feat against Canada, like the one against the USA in the quarterfinals, required a team presence which in the end we missed, why Aliassime and Pospisil, even if only slightly (7-6, 7-5), were more teams than Volandri’s Italy. I tried to exploit all our potential – explains the captain after the fact -, this journey has just started and we are already on. I’m proud of everyone, our Davis Cup story has just begun.

Without Sinner and Berrettini in singles we seemed destined to go down to the quarterfinals, instead the company of celestini threw their heart over the obstacle. The glass half full, talent and youth allow you to dream big. Yet from Malaga we leave with regrets and doubts (on Bolelli’s calf), making an effort to look to the future. If the best is to come, however, let it come quickly.