With no week off between the Japanese GP and the Bahrain GP weekends, most F1 drivers headed straight to Sakhir following the race in Suzuka. But not Oliver Bearman, who found time to attend the Monte-Carlo Masters tournament in Monaco.
Bearman was in the stands for the Round of 32 clash between Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini, which the Italian won in three sets: 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
After getting the better of Zverev, Berrettini also had a quick chat with Bearman, who was one of the most recognizable faces in the audience. “I’m tired,” Berrettini said right after his 2-hour 27-minute battle.
That didn’t stop him from asking Bearman to teach him how to drive an F1 car. In response, the Haas driver jokingly said he’d be just as keen “to go on the court and return one of your serves.” Berrettini then asked if Bearman played tennis, to which the 19-year-old gave a disappointing reply.
“I play a bit of padel,” Bearman said — a response that left Berrettini heartbroken.
“Ah, my heart,” the 28-year-old replied, clutching his chest to show Bearman just how devastated he was. While he was clearly joking, there’s good reason behind the reaction.
View this post on Instagram
While tennis players are generally happy to see the rise of other racket sports like padel and pickleball, there’s also growing concern about what this trend could mean for the future of tennis.
24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic once stated that if the tennis body did not do more to promote the sport, most courts would be converted to padel or pickleball as they are simply “more financially viable“.
“If we don’t do something about it, as I said, globally or collectively, they’re going to convert all the tennis clubs into padel and pickleball because it’s just more economical“, he explained. “You have one tennis court, you can build three padel courts on one tennis court. You do the simple math“.
While Berrettini may share similar concerns as Djokovic, for now, he’ll simply be happy to have booked his place in the Round of 16, where he will face compatriot Lorenzo Musetti. The match is scheduled for April 10, with the exact time yet to be announced.
Berrettini and Bearman had an interesting discussion
Athletes from different sports are often curious about how others go about their craft and what the experience is like playing a different game. Berrettini and Bearman had similar questions for each other.
After watching Berrettini’s grueling clash with Zverev, one of the first things that came to Bearman’s mind was the Italian’s heart rate during the match. “200,” Berrettini replied — a response that surprised Bearman.
Berrettini then explained that even though he was struggling physically, he couldn’t show it during the match. Players like him, he said, have to learn how to fake being fine, even when they’re completely exhausted, because tennis is as much a mental game as it is a physical one.
Berrettini then shifted the conversation to F1, asking Bearman if he was a bit too tall to be a driver. Bearman admitted that fitting into the car is indeed a struggle for someone of his height.
That’s when Berrettini — who is even taller than Bearman — recalled the one time he tried to squeeze into an F1 simulator and the kind of trouble he had. Considering the average height of an F1 driver is around 5 ft 9 in (1.77 m), Bearman, at 6 ft 3 in (1.88 m), is definitely on the taller side.
