The Italian has won five singles career titles so far, showcasing his prowess when handed an opportunity.
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The 2021 edition of Wimbledon saw Novak Djokovic pull off a stunning triumph to showcase his calibre and ability to compete for the greatest prizes in the world of tennis. However, it also witnessed another incredible feat as Matteo Berrettini became the first Italian man to reach a grand slam final, since Adriano Panatta won the 1976 Roland Garros title. Berrettini had won the biggest title of his career so far going into the tournament, having won the Queen’s Club Championships, which marked his first triumph on the ATP 500 level. The Italian had become the first player from the nation to win the prestigious title, as well as the first debutant to register a triumph at Queen’s Club. Berrettini had to face his fair share of competition during the course of the tournament, after registering a win against Andy Murray and 6th seed Dan Evans in the quarterfinals. However, a triumph against Cameron Norrie in the final, ensured a classic victory that enabled him to deliver a fine display in Wimbledon. Berrettini ensured a comfortable qualification on to the quarterfinal, with a win against Ilya Ivashka. The Italian maintained the surge trumping Felix Auger-Aliassime in four sets to become the first Italian man in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. Berrettini however was not content with this, sailing into the final following a win against Hubert Hurkacz to emerge as the first player from the nation to reach a Wimbledon singles final.
The Italian has won five singles career titles so far, showcasing his prowess when handed an opportunity. He has finished as the finalist in three singles career finals, which is certainly praiseworthy. Berrettini is however showing no signs of stopping, as evident from his statement following the defeat against Djokovic.
“The most important thing for me is that right now I’m losing against the best players in the world. In Paris, I lost against him [Djokovic], and he won the tournament. In Queen’s, I won, and then I lost against him again here. It means that my level is growing. It means my weapons and my tennis, in general, is growing. That’s the right path. That’s the right thing that I’m doing,” said the Italian in an interaction with atptour.com.
Since 2011, he has served as Matteo Berrettini’s coach. Berrettini, who is currently ranked seventh on the ATP rankings, finished second at Wimbledon, advanced to the US Open semifinals, and became just the third tennis player from Italy to ever reach the ATP Finals. On May 3, 1999, Santopadre climbed to a career-high World No. 100. On August 24, 1998, he peaked at world no. 103 in doubles, winning one doubles championship. Santopadre defeated the 10th seed Karol Kucera and the reigning champion Magnus Norman at the Rome Masters in 1998 and 2001, respectively. In 1999, he defeated Gustavo Kuerten in the Munich quarterfinals after reaching the semifinals in Bournemouth in 1998 and Chennai in 1999.
