Berrettini in tears after the defeat with Sonego in the ATP 250 in Stuttgart-Corriere.it

A year ago, after the hand injury, Matteo Berrettini returned to the field on the grass in Stuttgart and won. This time, after the oblique abs one, things went differently: Berrettini clearly lost (6-1 6-2) the derby against Lorenzo Sonego, but the least. Matteo appeared in worrying conditions, physically – but it was predictable, given that he didn’t play from Montecarlo – but above all emotional. At a certain point, as he left the field, even tears sprang up, because the first to feel sorry for this situation was Berrettini, who in 2022 scored a brace between Stuttgart – a tournament branded with his technical sponsor – and Queen ‘s and which instead is now having to climb a mountain of negative thoughts as well as the ranking that without these points will see him leave the top 30.

At the Foro Italico, Sonego had dedicated a victory to Berrettini precisely to encourage him. On the pitch, on a surface on which the Turinese is also at ease, he was unable to show sporting mercy, in a match that lasted only an hour and 11′, in which Berrettini was superior only in the number of aces (five to three) . I’m not happy – admitted Sonny -. I beat my best friend. I played imagining that he wasn’t on the other side, I played my best tennis and now I hope Matteo will recover immediately, from the next opportunity. For the rest, six break points canceled out of six by Sonego, who will now face one between O’Connell and Altmaier, in a draw that today also saw the victorious debut of Lorenzo Musettiwho got rid of the Croatian Gojo 7-6 6-3 by finding the first victory of his career on grass.