Australian Open Thursday, 11 February 2021 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Matteo Berrettini Press Conference

backhand, but this is not a secret, everybody is doing M. BERRETTINI/T. Machac that. So I think he played a really good game and he was solid, and I struggled to beat him. I think he has to 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 feel pretty good about his game tonight.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. What was it like for you watching the match yesterday with Ajla? Was a very draining match Q. Next round against Karen Khachanov. How do coming off the back of that to play today. And also you see that matchup? more generally how do you feel now compared to let's say 2019 before the US Open? Obviously you've MATTEO BERRETTINI: Thanks. I mean, I know him had a lot more matches back then. You won a lot of pretty well. He knows me, as well. We are the same matches. This is the start of a new season. How did age. It's going to be for sure a tough one, especially in a you feel off the back of watching Ajla which was slam, a guy that knows me that much. He's a really good draining and then your matches this week? player. It's going to be tough, but in the third round of a slam I don't think that you're going to play an easy match. MATTEO BERRETTINI: I mean, it was a really tough I'm really looking forward to play him. match. Beautiful game. I don't know if you can say that, but really nice, nice atmosphere. Obviously I was upset Like I said on the court, I didn't feel really good today for her because she played really good, and it was a about my tennis, but I was able to win, so this match matter of a few points. I really wanted her to win. I think gives me a lot of confidence. she deserved it. But this is tennis; it can be like that.

Q. You said straight off the bat you didn't feel great It's funny because when I see her I'm probably most with your tennis today. What didn't you feel today stressed than when I play. So I was really tight with your tennis? yesterday night. It's happening when I see her and my brother. This is actually, I think, something nice. MATTEO BERRETTINI: I think a little bit of everything. I mean, not like in a big way, but I think my serve, my And today was different, definitely. The atmosphere forehand, my backhand, my return wasn't working the wasn't like that. It was less people watching, and way I wanted to and the way I was trying to, but mentally obviously she's playing for Australia, so it was different I was there to tell me that today was like this, and I had to against Halep, a bigger match. But nothing, I thought accept it. That's why I said this is an important win for about my game. I thought about playing my best tennis, my confidence because when you are winning and you're be in the moment. not playing your best tennis, I think it's a great effort and has to give you a lot of confidence. That's what I said. For a moment I thought about it, I was-2 up, but with my game it's different. I serve better. I thought about it for Q. Can you please give us a comment on the game one second. of your opponent, Tomas Machac? And then for 2019, I mean, 2019 I'm always saying that MATTEO BERRETTINI: I never really saw him before everything happened so fast that I didn't even like have the match, so I was -- obviously we prepared the match the time to realize. I was just going game by game, with my coach. He told me how this guy plays a little bit, tournament after tournament. I didn't have any goals. I his backhand, he's moving really fast. I knew that the have to be honest. I wasn't, okay, now I'm playing for the serve wasn't like a big server like Anderson, but I really finals, now I'm playing for the top 10. I was just playing. think that he served really well. He was mixing up. Like I I was just hitting forehands and serves. said, he was moving well, really good backhand. He was a little bit unpredictable. But I think in 2020 I realized what happened, and now I learned a lot from what happened, so I'm already more -- He didn't have -- obviously he was looking for my I can say more mature tennis-wise, you can say maybe

104557-1-1002 2021-02-11 08:33:00 GMT Page 1 of 2 wiser. Then it's always tennis, so it's a matter of a few things, but I think now I'm a better tennis player.

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