The week, starting from Monday, March 12 has been dominated by Italians in men’s singles tennis. Jannik Sinner and Luca Nardi grabbed the headlines with impressive performances at the Indian Wells 2024 competition. Jannik Sinner defeated Ben Shelton on Tuesday to enter the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters event. While Luca Nardi knocked out the World No.1 Novak Djokovic in one of the biggest upsets in tennis history on Monday to enter the fourth round.
However, there was another Italian star impressing with his comeback not so far away from Indian Wells. Matteo Berrettini, the former World No.6, is back playing competitive tennis after a spell away due to injury. Matteo Berrettini is currently competing at the ATP 250 tournament in Phoenix, in the United States.
The Italian star has been suffering from injuries since the US Open, with this being his first appearance back since the September 2023. He was forced to retire in the second round of the US Open 2023, due to an ankle injury. This injury meant that Berrettini would miss the Davis Cup matches for Italy during the end of last season, and also miss the Australian Open at the start of this year.
However, the Italian star is now totally fit and back competing on court. Currently, the 27-year-old is competing at the Phoenix Challenger tournament and got his first win since the US Open. Berrettini defeated Hugo Gaston, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the next round. With Italian tennis on the rise, the comeback of Berrettini will come as another boost to the tennis community.
Matteo Berrettini gets his first win since the US Open.
He’s been dealing with injuries for a while.
Nice to see him doing some damage at the Phoenix Challenger.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 13, 2024
Matteo Berrettini current ranking after an injury-ridden seven months
Matteo Berrettini has been out injured since September 2023. The Italian missed more than seven months of professional tennis before his comeback at the Phoenix Challenger. However, this injury lay-off has meant that the 27-year-old has dropped off in the world rankings. Berrettini is ranked 154th in the ATP rankings. However, a good run in the couple of tournaments coming up will ensure that the Italian will climb rankings again.
Matteo Berrettini reached his career high ranking of number 6 in 2022 before the Australian Open. Since then, the Italian has failed to improve on his performances due to injury. Despite that, the 27-year-old has been a favorite in the brand market. Berrettini is the brand ambassador for sporting manufacturers, Boss and he will now be joined in the company by American Taylor Fritz. Also, the Italian has made a hefty amount of $11,546,845 in prize money, throughout his career. Still only 27, Berrettini will be keen to add more money into his kitty.
