Matteo Berrettini plays pain-free for the first time in years, has rediscovered the joy of life

Matteo Berrettini is delighted to be playing pain-free for the first time in a long while but isn’t getting ahead of himself when it comes to expectations.

The former Wimbledon finalist announced his return to being an ATP Tour contender with a run to the final in Stuttgart and got his Terra Wortmann Open tilt underway with a win as well.

Berrettini has endured an injury nightmare that has rolled through the past two seasons.

He said that living without pain is a great relief to him and that getting back onto the tennis court is a bonus.

The former Italian No 1 admits that he was disappointed to come so close to winning the title in Stuttgart before being denied by Jack Draper but added that he really is delighted to be feeling physically well.

“I don’t think about the pain or whether or not to play a match, but only about the pitch,” Berrettini said.

“It seems banal but given the last few years it isn’t like that for me, this is the best thing, I didn’t expect the final in Stuttgart where for practically one point I didn’t manage to take home the title, but it was a very good week.”

He was quick to thank everyone who supported him through the darkest days of his career.

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“So much happiness to be back on the court, to have fun and not think about the pain. Different conditions here, I suffered in the first set but after that I won and therefore another battle tomorrow, which is what I wanted. In recent years I have felt a lot of support everywhere and in Italy everyone is interested in tennis, and that’s a great thing.

“Then obviously it means that I have done something good in recent years, I’m not talking about tennis but from a human and behavioral point of view and I’m happy for all of this,” said Berrettini.

He added that those closest to him, kept him going throughout his ordeal.

“They kind of put me in a position where I had to fight again. And in that moment, you don’t really want to fight anymore. You just want to let it go and go somewhere else,” Berrettini said. “But I fought through and that was, I think, the turning point.”

Berrettini bowed out of Halle in the second round after a three-set defeat to American Marcos Giron on Thursday.