(Milan) Italian Matteo Berrettini, who has just retained his title at Queen’s, said in an interview broadcast on Monday by Sky Sports Italia that he feels capable of winning the Wimbledon tournament, of which he is the outgoing runner-up, even if he does not consider himself to be the favourite.
Posted at 11:33 a.m.
“I don’t know if I’m the favorite as long as Novak (Djokovic) and Rafa (Nadal) are there; Rafa has already won Wimbledon twice, and no one expected him to win in Australia (at the start of the year, after six months of stopping all competition to treat his foot injury, editor’s note)”, has said Berrettini, 26 and world No.11, to Sky Sport Italia.
“I don’t think I’m the favorite, but I know I can do it, and I can’t stop people from staring at me,” he continued. “My goal is to experience a great tournament at Wimbledon and I hope it will be two very intense weeks. »
On Sunday, this big server of 1.96 m joins the closed club of those who have won the Queen’s twice in a row, where he now keeps company with John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray, all former world N.1.
The previous Sunday, for his back-to-school tournament after a three-month hiatus during which he underwent minor surgery on his right hand, Berrettini had also lifted the winner’s cup on the Stuttgart lawn.
The Wimbledon tournament, the third round of the Grand Slam, begins next Monday. No Italian so far has won the men’s singles there. Last year, Berrettini lost in the final to Novak Djokovic in four sets.