“They will not destroy us forever” Matteo Berrettini believes the Big-3’s success ‘is a passage, it will pass’
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Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Matteo Berrettini
World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini had another good run at the Grand Slams but failed to return with a trophy. The Italian was defeated in the semi-finals of the 2022 Australian Open by eventual champion Rafael Nadal who went on to create history by winning his 21st career Grand Slam title at the Melbourne Park 2 days later.
Things have looked good for the Italian in the past few years making consistent runs. Since the 2021 season, all of his Grand Slam defeats have come against a member of the Big-3. After having withdrawn from the 4th round of the 2021 Australian Open due to an injury, he suffered a quarter-final defeat at the 2021 French Open, a loss in the finals of the 2021 Wimbledon and again a quarter-final defeat in the 2021 US Open all coming to Novak Djokovic.
At the Australian Open, it was Nadal who took him down. While he has always admired and shown respect towards the Big-3, the Italian continues to believe that the trio’s time and success will end and the younger generation won’t receive a bashing every time they went up against someone from the legendary trio. “They will not destroy us in the media forever, it is a passage but it will pass,” said Berrettini during his recent interview with Italian newspaper Repubblica.
Matteo Berrettini speaks about Big-3 receiving more support
With the opponents of the Big-3 often subject to whistling and booing from the crowd, Berrettini gave his opinions on the matter. Earlier, World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev had expressed his disappointment on being booed from the crowd and how that had led to the ‘killing of the kid inside him‘. Berrettini however had a different point of view on the subject.
“It also happened with Nadal, I remember the public at the time of him cheering for Sampras and Agassi and not for the new champions who have now become legends. People used to look at Rafa and say ‘look at this, play with the capri shorts. I too in the stands in their place would cheer for Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, cheering for them means staying attached to their memories and a part of their heart, it’s romantic,” added Berrettini.
While Berrettini has not returned to the Tour since his exit from the Australian Open, the Italian is expected to return to action in the coming weeks with many events lined up. Berrettini has also been seen on the entry list for the upcoming 2022 Indian Wells Masters that begins from 10th March in California.
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Sarthak Shitole
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