UNITED CUP

January 7, 2023

Matteo Berrettini

Lucia Bronzetti

Team Italy

Press Conference

Team Italy - 3

Team Greece - 1

THE MODERATOR: Just a couple of questions.

Q. Matteo, what was it like playing that match? The atmosphere on court obviously, I'm sure there is a bit of disappointment at not getting over the line, but can you just describe what it was like on the court?

MATTEO BERRETTINI: It was personally a great match, a great atmosphere. We knew that in Australia there is a big Greek community, so we felt it yesterday obviously when the No. 1 player was playing. It was even bigger.

It was really nice. I personally like it, especially after experiencing doubles in COVID and stuff. We love the crowd, we love when it's loud.

Of course I wasn't happy at the end of the match, but the nice part about this competition, team competitions in general, is that even though you lose, you still can win the tie. Thanks to this girl and the other teammates, I'm happy that we are gonna play the finals tomorrow.

I think it was a really good match, obviously upset, but we are already thinking about the U.S.

Q. Lucia, how does it feel that it was your win that got Italy over the line and into the final?

LUCIA BRONZETTI: Yeah, it was not easy, because it was the most important point. Yeah, I felt pressure because I had to win. But, yeah, now it's even more important and more funny for me. Yeah, I am happy.

Q. How did you feel when you realized they were substituting Grammatikopoulou, especially since you'd lost to her last two times, and how did you deal with that mentally?

LUCIA BRONZETTI: Yeah, I saw her warming up in the gym, so I understood that she was gonna play. Yeah, I lost with her two times, but the last two times in Italy I won in (indiscernible) matches.

Yeah, I knew that it would have been a tough match. Yeah, I'm proud of myself, because I think that I had a good attitude in the court, and I played also good.

Q. Your team spirit this week reminded me of the Italian Fed Cup team, Schiavone, Pennetta, Vinci, Errani, who won so many cups. Can you talk about growing up, watching them, and being inspired by them?

MATTEO BERRETTINI: Yeah, they were great inspirations for all of us, especially for them. I believe they were great. It's crazy, the four of them, they were top 10. They won like so much.

I think when you play team competition, it's important to create like a group off court and then you can perform better on court. That's what we did from the very first moment. When we figured out what was the team, you know, when we signed for this competition, we immediately created this group chat and started talking about when we will get here and, you know, like we kind of celebrated Christmas on the flights together.

We started to hang out together and create this bond that is really important. And I believe in this. I believe in the fact that we are to the finals because we are a strong group off court.