Berrettini family affair in Acapulco as Jacopo joins Matteo in main draw – ‘He is my inspiration’

ATP Tour
Matteo Berrettini in action

This week’s Mexican Open features two members of the Berrettini family after Jacopo qualified for his maiden ATP Tour event, joining brother Matteo in the main draw.

Matteo Berrettini is a household name in the world of tennis as has won seven singles titles, finished runner-up at Wimbledon in 2021 and reached a career-high of No 6 in the ATP Rankings.

Jacopo, on the other hand, is not as well known as his older brother as he has competed mostly on the ITF Futures Circuit and ATP Challenger Tour events.

His four previous attempts to reach the main draw of an ATP saw him lose in straight sets and he must have thought “here we go again” when lost the opening set of his first qualifier Acapulco against Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-0.

However, he turned it around as he ended up winning 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 and followed it up with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Luciano Darderi to secure his first ticket into a main draw at the top-level tournament.

“On Sunday when I finished my match, I couldn’t believe it,” the 24-year-old Jacopo told ATPTour.com. “Last night too, I didn’t sleep very well, but it was probably the best night of my life.”

He added: “I came here with not good vibes. But I was trying from the first match to fight a lot and I think I did it. My team, my family helped me a lot. For me it’s really important to have them here.”

Jacopo will take on Oscar Otto in the opening round while brother Matteo will be up against Alex Molcan while the Italian duo will also team up in the doubles.

Having an older brother on the tour has certainly been a major positive for Jacopo as he is able to use Matteo’s trainer and physio when travelling.

But of course one of the major benefits is the fact that he has his brother around, especially in Acapulco this week.

“Without him [none of this] would be possible” Jacopo said of Matteo. “Not just for the [qualifying] wildcard but for everything. He is my inspiration, he’s really a true champion and really a very good person. For me he’s the most important person in my life. I really want to say thanks to him. It’s really nice to have him here and in general in my life.”

The brothers are certainly living the dream as they have fulfilled their childhood goal of becoming professionals.

Jacopo added: “We were having fun. We had the dream [of becoming professionals], but just that. Not a goal, but a dream. And this now for us is still a dream. It’s something that is crazy. Tomorrow we are going to play on the same day at one tournament. It’s so big. It’s still a dream.”

READ MORE: ATP Acapulco draw features Carlos Alcaraz, Cameron Norrie, 12 Americans and the Berrettini brothers

Jacopo Berrettini Matteo Berrettini

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