Two-time Grand Slam champion Nicola Pietrangeli is urging Matteo Berrettini to focus more on tennis and less on advertising himself. The 26-year-old Berrettini came into the Australian Open hoping to become a Grand Slam, but ended up suffering an upset first-round loss to Andy Murray.
After the Australian Open, Berrettini’s name was mentioned on the front pages of Italian tabloids due to his alleged relationship with Italian television presenter Melissa Satta.. “It seems to me that Matteo is devoting himself more to advertising than to tennis.
I would not like him to end up like Volandri, who after beating Federer in Rome did not do anything again. He’s a nice guy, he reminds me a bit of Pannatta. He is very handsome from the waist up, but his legs do not move as they should, ”Pietrangeli told Gazzetta dello Sport, as he revealed in tennis365.
Pietrangeli on Berrettini, the state of Italian and men’s tennis
Italian tennis has some very talented names in the men’s game – Berrettini, Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti – but they haven’t had a men’s Grand Slam champion since Adriano Panatta won the 1976 French Open.
Reflecting on the state of men’s tennis, Pietrangeli believes that the most beautiful tennis was played in the past. Also, Pietrangeli called Sinner «the best Italian of the moment» and described Musetti as «the Italian with the most beautiful tennis». “The world has changed and tennis too, and it has gotten worse.
It’s an uglier sport. Before, if you had talent, you had to work physically; Now, if you’re not a great athlete, you can’t even consider getting on a court. He (Sinner) is the best Italian at the moment, although he has a very different style from me.
Above all, it has a great advantage, and that is that it seems much more German than Italian. The one I like the most is Lorenzo Musetti, his tennis is the most beautiful,» Pietrangeli explained.
