THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 10, 2023

Matteo Berrettini

Press Conference

C. ALCARAZ/M. Berrettini

3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the press conference of Matteo Berrettini.

Matteo, give us your thoughts.

MATTEO BERRETTINI: Yeah, yeah, tough loss. I mean, I played the best player in the world, so I expected this kind of level. I think he found a way to make me feel uncomfortable on court.

I think I still could have played better, but that's tennis. It's not always like what you wish for.

Yeah, it's tough now, but I have to be proud of myself, look forward for what's next, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Thinking about what's next, you talked earlier about being able to feel alive on the court again. How important was this experience for you personally and looking forward to the rest of the season?

MATTEO BERRETTINI: Yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. You know, now it's tough to put things under the right perspective. I don't like to lose, so... Right now it's tough to say it was a good tournament. I know it was.

Probably in a few hours, a few days, I'm going to appreciate even more what I did. I really thought about not playing two days before the tournament. So being in the fourth round and losing like this against Carlos, it's something I have to be proud of.

At the same time I'm competitive and I always want to win when I step on the court. I just felt alive again. I felt like this is what I want to do, what I enjoy to do. Today I wasn't good enough, but it's part of the sport.

Q. Did you feel like the lack of matches caught you a bit today playing against the best player in the world, not having the best preparation?

MATTEO BERRETTINI: Yeah, I think many things, obviously.

But, yeah, I mean, lack of matches? Yeah. At the same time he's the No. 1 in the world. I knew that I had to up my level even more. Right now it's not easy to every day just get higher and higher your level.

Again, I think he did a great job. He played really good, really solid, returning a lot. I mean, I knew about it, but he was defending, like, unbelievable.

Yeah, I think it's a mix of factors. At the same time I still think I could have done better because I'm a perfectionist and I always think about what I could have done better.

Yeah, I don't think I lost just for that. I think for many reasons, yeah.

Q. What specific areas do you think you could have been better in?

MATTEO BERRETTINI: I think I could have done better on I think when I was returning. Obviously the sets that I lost, I think the return of the second serve wasn't as aggressive as I planned to.

Yeah, I think with my forehand, I could have done way better. Even if I was missing, try to miss a little bit more, to force a little bit more, especially when I was returning, find the confidence to also go and when I was serving.

With Carlos, you almost have to hit every shot like full power because otherwise he's going to get there. So I think these two things.

In general, I also think my attitude wasn't that good. It's normal. The more you get to, like, important matches, important rounds, the pressure is there. You're playing, again, the No. 1 in the world.

There are more factors that you have to handle. Yeah, I didn't do like -- I wouldn't say a great job but I did a good job but not good enough to beat him.

Q. As a great server, what is good about Carlos' return?

MATTEO BERRETTINI: I think his reaction times are unbelievable. He goes with a slice on the first serve. When he does, he has a great feel, great hands. It's always tough.

You know the first shot, you have to be precise, because he likes to play in defense. That's the tricky part. He's staying so close on the second serve. Doesn't matter if you mix it up, he's always finding the right time.

Reminds me of Novak a little bit, this kind of like reflex, time of reaction. Like a server, I feel this. But I also feel when I found the right rhythm, he didn't like that.

It's a matter of few things. Today he was better than me.