Matteo Berrettini went well beyond his dreams after he qualified for the ATP Finals to be the first Italian to achieve this feat since 1978 (Corrado Barazzuti).
Matteo ended in probably the most competitive group in London as he will have to face an in-form Novak Djokovic, the great Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem that enjoyed the best season of his career.
However, the Italian has nothing to lose and he has the firepower to cause damage to any player on tour.
His first match against Djokovic
Matteo will have Novak Djokovic as his first opponent in London. The Serb is fighting hard to end the year as the deserving world no.1 against Rafael Nadal and he needs a great run in London to achieve that. Also, Djokovic impressed after he won the ATP1000 in Paris last week even if he was clearly struggling with illness.
Talking about his upcoming challenge against Djokovic, Matteo commented:
“Against Novak it’s hard, many things he does bother me. He returns very well, plays very well on the backhand side, so it’s going to be a very difficult match technique-wise. But it will be a very nice emotion. We trained together in Cincinnati; he is a pleasant person.”
Then Matteo added
“It’s a dream come true [playing the ATP Finals]. Everybody is asking me if I am aware of it, and I am not really aware. This year has been very important from every point of view: mentally, I managed to go through very complicated situations, besides handling new ones. I improved, my level raised.”
Prediction and H2H
Matteo and Novak have never played each other so far. The prediction is Djokovic winning in straight sets.
Matteo Berrettini’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.8 (career-high), Berrettini played his last match on the 30th of October when he capitulated to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4 6-3 in the 2nd round in Paris.
This year Berrettini has a 46-21 win-loss record. Berrettini clinched 3 titles in 2019 in the Phoenix Challenger, in Budapest and in Stuttgart. Berrettini was the finalist in Munich.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.2, Novak played his last match on the 3rd of November when he beat Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 in the final in Paris to win his 77th career title.
This year the Serbian has a 53-9 win-loss record. The Serbian has won 5 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon, in Tokyo and in Paris. The Serbian was the finalist in Rome.
Matteo Berrettini and Novak Djokovic have never played each other.
