“He is more positive than me,” Matteo Berrettini thanks his younger brother Jacopo for nudging him back toward tennis after initial dislike
Italian tennis star revealed that he picked another sports first and his younger brother inspired him to take up tennis after initial disinterest.
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Matteo and Jacopo Berrettini
The Berrettini Brothers, Matteo, and Jacopo are currently competing in Acapulco. With the tournament, younger brother Jacopo made his ATP main-draw debut while World No. 24 Matteo is looking to redeem his form by winning the title of the Mexican Open.
The older brother shared the excitement of sharing the stage with Jacopo. Talking about his relationship with Jacopo on the sidelines of the Mexican Open, he said that it was a ‘privilege’ to have his younger brother competing in the same tournament. Matteo also revealed it was his brother who inspired him to take up tennis.
“Thanks to him. Even though he is younger than me,” Matteo acknowledged after being asked about the inspiration behind his entry into the sport. “And of course my family. All my grandparents and parents are playing tennis for a long time. They are not professionals but they are members of tennis clubs and they were bringing me when I was very little.”
Matteo also revealed that he did not like the sport at first, “I didn’t like tennis when I was four or three when they put small rackets in your hands. I wasn’t really a fan. That’s why I started with judo, swimming, and other sports.”
Jacopo was the inspiration behind Matteo’s return to tennis
The 26-year-old Matteo Berrettini opened up about his first choice sports and tennis was not one of them, he revealed. “When I was 8 I think I was swimming and doing judo and my brother, was five and a half. He told me ‘Come back you should try again because you are gonna like it.’” Matteo explained.
“I trust him and I was like ‘Okay, let’s go.’ I tried and never stopped. So thanks to him also. So many times he is more positive than me. So many times I was watching him and I was like ‘I have to be like him.’”
“I think we helped each other a lot. Especially when we were younger,” he further added. In the quarterfinals, Matteo will lock horns with Holger Rune who defeated Nuno Borges on Thursday. Jacapo’s opponent is yet to be decided.
Jacopo opening up about Matteo is all feels
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) March 1, 2023
‘Without him [none of this] would be possible, not just for the wild card but for everything. He is my inspiration, he’s really a true champion and really a very good person. He’s the most important person in my life’
(via @ATPTour) pic.twitter.com/NUScmXOjLR
Jacopo Berrettini on his part was full of praise for his brother as well. “Without him [none of this] would be possible, not just for the wild card but for everything. He is my inspiration, he’s really a true champion and really a very good person. He’s the most important person in my life,” he said earlier.
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Abhinavendu Singh
(290 Articles Published)