Seventh seed Matteo Berrettini was asked to name the most difficult player to face in the history of tennis.
The Italian believes Novak Djokovic is the most difficult player to face on the ATP Tour besides Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“I would need to go with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, or Roger Federer.” Berrettini said.
“Arguably the three greatest players of all time. It has been exciting to be played simultaneously as all three, but also slightly annoying joking as I’d probably have a few more trophies at home.” Berrettini added.
Even without the media, Berrettini admittws that every tennis player still feels pressure when struggling for winning more trophies.
“Even without the media, players would still feel the pressure. They have trained their whole lives to win trophies, achieve personal goals, and break and set incredible records when it comes to Serena and Novak.” Berrettini added.
“So they also put pressure on themselves. They know how significant their achievements are and potentially how important they could be to whatever they are trying to achieve.” he added.
At the US Open, Berrettini reached the quarterfinals following wins over Ilya Ivashka and Oscar Otte. He then lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets, in a repeat of the Wimbledon final.
Berrettini and the 75th seed Alexei Popyrin will meet in a first-round blockbuster at the Erste Bank Open on Monday.
The 25-year-old man will look to continue his run of good results and try to win his first title in three years when he takes the court at Vienna.
“Obviously I’ll do my best to prepare well and have a shot at the title. The best ten players in this season are going to be there.” Berrettini said.
