Matteo Berrettini claims that he had confidence in Jannik Sinner to become the strongest of all Italian players

Matteo Berrettini was the biggest hope for Italy in men's tennis before Jannik Sinner broke through in 2023.

Matteo Berrettini claims that he had confidence in Jannik Sinner to become the strongest of all Italian players

Matteo Berrettini (L), Jannik Sinner (R) (Via Imago)

Matteo Berrettini has made a huge claim about Jannik Sinner‘s credentials before his second Grand Slam title at the US Open. The former World No.6 said that he always believed in the World No.1’s ability to become the benchmark for all the Italian players.

Sinner has won two of the four Grand Slam titles in 2024, tying with Carlos Alcaraz in that tally for the season. In addition to that, he has won six ATP career titles, including two Masters 1000 titles.

YouTube video
The leader of Italian tennis is Jannik, who has just won another Slam. He is number one in the world, I don't know how many thousand points he has more than the #2. I was asked in July, ‘who will win the US Open?’ I answered Jannik, because objectively, when he enters a tournament, he is the favorite. It's impressive, we try to follow him, to do our best.
Matteo Berrettini in a recent interaction with the reporters (H/T: Ubitennis)

Before Sinner’s breakthrough in 2023, Berrettini was the biggest hope for Italian tennis. The 28-year-old had made the Wimbledon final in 2021 but lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets. However, Sinner has single-handedly overtaken his achievements in one season.

FS Video
The fact of seeing Jannik so high is surprising, but less because, when you play with a strong player, with those characteristics, you know that he will reach the top, his path has always been clear, even when it was said that it would not be like that, I was sure that he would become the strongest of all.
Matteo Berrettini added

Moreover, Sinner has also brought happiness to the Italian fans as he was influential in winning his country their first Davis Cup since 1976. Even if Berrettini couldn’t make any gigantic strides in his career, he would hope that his compatriot can continue to do what he’s been doing until recent times.

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Jannik Sinner’s schedule after the US Open

World No.1 Jannik Sinner has not yet made massive announcements about his playing schedule after the US Open. The Italian won his second Grand Slam singles title in New York on Sunday (September 8).

Jannik Sinner (3)
Jannik Sinner (Image via X)

The biggest update so far from Sinner’s camp is that he is not playing in the Davis Cup playoffs scheduled for mid-September. Italy are the defending champion in this year’s event. However, his next participation will most likely be at the China Open, where he is the defending champion.

The right-hander also has the Vienna Open title to defend from last year. However, he is unlikely to play in both tournaments because he crashed out of the Round of 16 at the US Open last year. Sinner doesn’t have many points to defend in Shanghai Masters or BNP Paribas Masters. However, he will have his work cut out at the World Tour Finals, where he finished runners-up to Novak Djokovic last year.

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