Berrettini Out of Montreal: No Feel for the Ball

Matteo Berrettini was eliminated in the first round of the Montreal Masters 1000 by Mariano Navone, who won 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 in three hours and three minutes of actual play. The match was interrupted twice by rain and dragged on for nearly three days, from Sunday August 2's postponement to its conclusion on Tuesday.

Afterward, the Italian started with how he felt on court. "I couldn't adapt well to the conditions, I didn't have a good feel for the ball," he explained. "I felt like I was making a lot of errors, that the ball was moving a lot, I had little feel for the ball." The rain delays did the rest: "I came back onto the court poorly after the stoppage," he admitted, though acknowledging that "the third time I went back out, I think I had different energy."

It was Berrettini's first match since Wimbledon. Ranked No. 40 in the world, the Roman lost to No. 44, who had never beaten him before: their three previous meetings, all played on clay, had all gone the Italian's way.

The physical side remains the most delicate issue. "In the days before the tournament I did feel a bit of discomfort," he said, adding that "my body has been through a lot, so every now and then I get niggles that are harder to handle mentally than physically." His next stop is Cincinnati: "There will be a few days to recover and try to do better in Cincinnati."

One final line stands out above all, capturing this phase of Berrettini's career better than any statistic: "I want to play when I enjoy playing, when I find the right motivation."