"Matteo Berrettini is handsome, rich and famous, but what does he want in life? He's wasting it all" - Nicola Pietrangeli
Former Italian tennis pro Nicola Pietrangeli has criticized Matteo Berrettini for lacking ambition.
Berrettini has had a tough 2023 season so far. At the Australian Open, he lost to Andy Murray in the opening round. After that, he was sidelined with injuries for nearly two months before returning to action at the Mexican Open.
The Italian won two matches in Mexico before withdrawing from his quarterfinal match against Holger Rune. This was followed by consecutive first-round defeats at Indian Wells and Miami.
At the Monte-Carlo Masters, he managed to reach the third round when an injury forced him to withdraw before his match against Rune. He then skipped the rest of the claycourt swing to better prepare for the grass season.
At the Stuttgart Open earlier this month, Berrettini, the defending champion, lost to compatriot Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 6-1 in the first round. At the ongoing Queen's Club Championship, Berrettini's title defence has fallen flat after he withdrew from the tournament.
Nicola Pietrangeli, considered one of Italy's greatest men's players of all time, opined that there's no clarity on what Berrettini is going through, in terms of physical and mental issues.
"Berrettini is 25 years old. He's handsome, rich and famous, but what does he want in life? He doesn't understand how lucky he is. He earns millions of euros and he's wasting it all," he said (via Pundo de Break).
"Honestly, it doesn't hurt me," he added. "No I [don't] know what's going through his head. I don't think he knows it himself, no one knows. It's a pity, you have a fortune in your hand and you insist on making it complicated. The problem, as I said, is that you never we will know 100% what is happening to him. We can all think of one thing, but maybe it has nothing to do with it."
Pietrangeli further expressed doubts about Berrettini competing in the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, which get underway on July 3.
"These are not easy times for him and I hope he can get out of this spiral soon. Nobody knows the truth about his physical problems, maybe even he didn't either. We only know that unfortunately he withdrew from Queen's. Sincerely, I don't know if he'll be ready to play Wimbledon."
Nicola Pietrangeli: "Matteo Berrettini is dedicating himself more to advertising than to tennis"
This isn't the first time Nicola Pietrangeli has spoken sternly about Matteo Berrettini. Earlier this year, he said the former World No. 6 was too dedicated to advertising than to tennis.
"It seems to me that [Matteo Berrettini] is dedicating himself more to advertising than to tennis. He is a good boy, but he is a bit like [Adriano] Panatta was: fantastic from the waist up, but the legs [don’t move the way they should on court," he had stated.
Berrettini's 2023 Queen's Club Championships withdrawal has seen him exit the top 30 in the ATP rankings. With the Wimbledon Championships starting in less than two weeks, this puts doubts on his chances of being seeded at the tournament.