The male tennis circuit may be dominated by the Big Three but there are young tennis players that are making their own mark in the court. One of these players is Italian ace Matteo Berrettini. After a relatively slow progress in the Grand Slams and other major tennis events since going pro, Berrettini’s big wins in the past few months have cemented his status as one of the young players to watch. One of the reasons why he has become a success is due to his work with mental coach Stefano Massari.
Who is Stefano Massari?
Stefano Massari has earned a reputation as one of the most reliable mental coaches in Europe. For the past few years, he has been working with Vincenzo Santopadre, a former professional tennis player who is now coaching Berrettini.
With Massari, mental exercises and training have become a major part of Berrettini’s preparations for major tournaments. He has been working with Berrettini for five years now and one of the benefits that he has received is the boost it gave to his confidence as a player.
An important lesson that Berrettini has learned during his mental training is not focusing too much on winning. While getting great results is important, Berrettini has learned to think of wins as something that comes with a certain level of work and performance.
It also helps that Berrettini has become friends with most of the people that help him win. He particularly has become fond of Massari. He said that before Massari was just following him as part of his job. Now, they have become great friends.
Berrettini’s improved rankings in the season’s tournaments
Whatever it is that Massari is doing seems to be working for the best. The year 2019 represents a new peak for Berrettini’s career. He won his second ATP singles title when he defeated Serbian player Filip Krajinovic. He also became the new champion of the Stuttgart Open in Germany, continuing what has become his best year yet.
For the first time, Berrettini also managed to reach the second week of a Grand Slam in Wimbledon. He, however, lost to tennis icon Roger Federer in the fourth round. He accepted his loss graciously, joking that he might have to pay Federer for the tennis lesson he was given.
Berrettini’s U.S. Open performance
Berrettini’s performance in the 2019 U.S. Open further proves that a lot of good things are coming to the young player. When he prevailed over French player Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals, he became the first Italian male player to qualify for the U.S. Open semifinals in more than 40 years.
Matteo will now face Rafael Nadal in the semifinal. The Spanish legend is a mental fortress and the Italian needs to be at his 100% if he wants to have a chance.
Berrettini at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.25, the Italian has a 38-15 win-loss record in 2019. Berrettini is currently competing at the U.S. Open where he defeated Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-3 2-6 6-2, Jordan Thompson 7-5 7-65 4-6 6-1, Alexei Popyrin 6-4 6-4 6-73 7-62, Andrey Rublev 6-1 6-4 7-66 and Gael Monfils 3-6 6-3 6-2 3-6 7-65.
Matteo will face Rafael Nadal in the semifinal. They have never played each so far on the main tour.
Matteo has won 3 titles in 2019 in the Phoenix Challenger, in Budapest, and in Stuttgart. Matteo was the finalist in Munich.
Matteo Berrettini |
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