Matteo Berrettini is gearing up to take on Roger Federer at the ATP Finals this afternoon (2pm).
The Italian scraped into the final spot at London’s O2 Arena but got off to a dreadful start when he was thrashed 6-2, 6-1 by Novak Djokovic on Sunday.
His tournament is not set to get any easier when the Italian goes toe-to-toe with Federer today before a showdown with Dominic Thiem on Thursday.
However, Berrettini is still star-struck by the amount of time he has been spending with the best players in the world.
“Talking with Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal about my season, training sessions, where I will have my pre-season training or holidays is something strange but makes me very happy,” Berrettini said.
“Also, last year I was the guy who came here and was trying to understand what was happening while this year the other younger guys will look at me, which makes me proud of my job.
“I am trying to learn as much as I can and I will grow regardless of the results.”
Berrettini has taken on Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic this calendar year and failed to win a single set.
And the 23-year-old attempted to explain why he finds it so difficult facing the biggest legends of the sport.
“I think he was returning unbelievable, the most impressive thing that he did,” Berrettini said after his loss to Djokovic.
“I mean, you have to tell me because I was in the court, but I was feeling that he was playing really good, moving really well.
“Yeah, he’s like I said for Rafa and Roger, they are the best three ever in the history of tennis. So for sure I was expecting, you know, to face, I mean, to have a tough match.
“I don’t know. I learned a lot from Roger and from Rafa. For sure I’m going to learn a lot from him.
“I don’t know. Yeah, was tough to mix, you know. We were playing flat, fast, and he was moving better than me, was playing better than me. So it was tough to win the points.
“But I think I played really good – I mean, not really good, but a good match. I’m feeling pretty confident, yeah.”