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Matteo Berrettini ATP Indian Wells 2021
ATP Tennis Players, Tennis News

‘It’s crazy’ declares Matteo Berrettini on chance for two Italians to qualify for ATP Finals


Matteo Berrettini says it is ‘crazy to think that he and Jannik Sinner could make a quarter of the field Italian at the ATP Finals in Turin this year.

The Wimbledon finalist is having an impressive season to arguably surpass his previous best year of 2019.

Berrettini has two ATP titles in 2021, the same as he achieved in 2019, plus a first Masters 1000 (Madrid) and Slam final (Wimbledon).

The world number seven also looks set to better his winningest season record of 43-25 from 2019, with a current win-loss record of 39-9.

All this puts the 25-year-old sixth in the ATP ‘Race to Turin’ in qualifying for the ATP Finals. Four of the eight places have already been taken by Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev, all former champions.

However, Berrettini is not the only Italian talent pushing to qualify for the competition, with 20-year-old Jannik Sinner not far behind.

“I think it would mean a lot for everybody [to have two Italians qualify],” Berrettini said at an Indian Wells press conference.

“For Jannik [Sinner] too, he’s so young and already fighting for that, it’s crazy. We know we’re playing for that. I think for the fans in general, it’s also nice because we are two different kinds of players.

“I think overall it just shows that Italian tennis is really healthy and a lot of players are coming up, a lot of players are still playing well.”

Sinner is currently 10th in the rankings race, slightly behind Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkacz.

However, with Rafael Nadal (seventh) out for the rest of 2021, Sinner is practically ninth in the race, just one spot off qualifying.

The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion has had a career-best season in 2021.

He currently holds a win-loss record of 38-17 on the season with three ATP titles and a Miami Masters final to his name.

Finally, the young talent sits at a career-high 14th in the ATP rankings.


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