ATP CUP

February 6, 2021

Vincenzo Santopadre

Matteo Berrettini

Fabio Fognini

Andrea Vavassori

Simone Bolelli

Team Italy

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Vincenzo, the first day when you beat Austria, you said you were here to go all the way. One match away, how do you see the final against Russia tomorrow?

VINCENZO SANTOPADRE: Okay, actually I felt sometimes very often I joke. When I said that, I was not joking at all because I know pretty well these guys. I was confident with them.

Tomorrow will be another tough match, as we had every tie, was really tough. I hope that these three wins gave us much more confidence. I think so. I think we will have fun tomorrow. But we are here to try to win, as I told you some days ago.

Q. Did you feel as confident that you would be able to make it to the final?

MATTEO BERRETTINI: Normally when I start a competition or tournament, I never think about the final, I think about the first match. He's different. Obviously I felt that we are a great team. We were a great team before starting it, and we're a great team now.

Obviously now the confidence is better, it's higher. But, yeah, I felt we could do a great, great week. Now we have, like, maybe the toughest match, but we are ready. We're feeling good. We're feeling good energy.

Q. Fabio, are you surprised at all that Italy has come so far?

FABIO FOGNINI: No. Surprise, no. I'm honest.

Q. Obviously your countrymen are winning a lot, too, Sinner.

FABIO FOGNINI: When he's coming, I'm not going to play. I'm too old now. 33, 34 in May. So I'm going to relax with fishing, enjoy life as much as we can.

Q. Fabio, for the past couple of years a lot of people have asked you about Jannik, Matteo. How good is it for you to be a part of this in showing how good Italian tennis is?

FABIO FOGNINI: Really nice because still I think I still okay, even if I'm 33. I still enjoy. I still get pissed sometimes. I have energy to do it. As I say, last day till I will be like that, I going to try to do my best.

Ranking is not important any more because, of course, I mean, I can play, I can beat most of everybody. I'm happy because I'm the old one. No, he's the old one on the team (smiling). But he play only doubles now.

Nothing to say. It's nice that we have players like him that is turn 25, now the other two guys that are almost 20. They are younger than me also. But it's good not only from us, but it's good for them because they still really young.

They need, they have to work a lot to reach probably the best of them and nothing else.