Patrick Mouratoglou: Matteo Berrettini the only top player with "huge weakness"
Patrick Mouratoglou spoke about Matteo Berrettini in a format at Tennis Majors. And thereby highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the Italian.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Feb 20, 2022, 04:08 pm
For two sentences it was almost blatant, Matteo Berrettini's great weakness. In his semi-final duel with Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open 2022, in which the Spaniard knew perfectly for two sentences how to penetrate the Roman's backhand side in such a way that for a long time it seemed as if there was a remarkable performance gap in this match on.
Although Berrettini was finally able to write in Melbourne, what remained of this semi-final duel was the impression that with this backhand it would be difficult to ensure great success in the long term. "He's the only one of the top players who has a huge weakness," emphasized star coach Patrick Mouratoglou in a format at tennis majors. "His backhand is very weak."
Berrettini with a strong forehand and serve
And in the big matches, against the big players, this is simply a big disadvantage, as Mouratoglou emphasizes. "But he's playing smart, he's mastering the slice backhand, which is a good shot when you have a good forehand, because when you have a very good slice backhand that stays deep, the opponent can't really attack, they have to play with more spin", says the Frenchman.
The Italians also mastered the forehand and the serve according to the textbook. "The combination of a huge serve and this forehand as a second hit makes it incredibly difficult to break," emphasizes the star coach. But what makes the Italian particularly special is his mental attitude on the pitch: "Matteo Berrettini is a player who believes in himself and refuses to lose."
Berrettini would have that in common with all the absolute top players, "Zverev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Berrettini: This fighting spirit and belief in their ability to win even in the most difficult situations is at the top," said Mouratoglou. And yet there's a reason why the Italian falls a bit short in this group. "For me he's a bit below them because he has a big weakness." A weakness that Rafael Nadal has recently shown drastically.