© Arizona Challenger Open
In the special press conference organized via Zoom, Matteo Berrettini revealed his intention to participate in the ATP Challenger tournament in Phoenix to gain minutes and get back into match rhythm.
“I won’t be at Indian Wells, I took these weeks to be as good as possible and it won’t be a week more or less that will change things. I will return to Phoenix and then I will play in Miami and the clay season,” said Berrettini.
In the last few hours, communication has arrived from the organizers of the Arizona Tennis Classic, who have made the wild card for the Italian player official.
Berrettini gets a wild-card for the Phoenix Open
“We announce our first wild card for the main draw: Matteo Berrettini! The Wimbledon 2021 finalist has not played since the last edition of the US Open due to injury, but will start again from Phoenix,” wrote the tournament board on X.
After Phoenix, as explained by Berrettini himself, he will play the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami.
The Italian played his last match at the 2023 US Open, when he injured his ankle during the match with Arthur Rinderknech. The hope is that the Italian can finally compete with continuity and rebuild his ranking, which currently sees him occupying 125th position.
FORZA MATTEO! 🇮🇹💪🔨
Announcing our first Main Draw Wild Card, Matteo Berrettini! The 2021 Wimbledon finalist hasn’t played since last year’s US Open due to injury, but will start his comeback campaign in Phoenix!#ArizonaTennisClassic | @ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/ISI6fPMvMQ
— Arizona Tennis Classic (@aztennisclassic) February 28, 2024
“Grand Slam tournaments? In 2024 I won’t chase Grand Slam titles, I’ll try to have a different approach. Sinner at Wimbledon? I think he’s one of the favourites, if it’s not him…Then there’s also the clay season which it is very expensive, he is part of the favorites and will be like this for the whole season,” Berrettini said in a recent interview.
The Italian tennis player also talked about his countryman Jannik Sinner: “At the moment the ranking interests me less. I’m interested in going back to playing matches with top-level players,” said Matteo.
