Berrettini brothers’ brilliance: Matteo & Jacopo’s memorable week

Before Matteo Berrettini stepped on court for his Grand Prix Hassan II quarter-final in Marrakech Friday, he was glued to a screen. He was not doing last-second scouting for his match, but watching brother Jacopo Berrettini.

The younger Berrettini brother advanced to the semi-finals of the ATP Challenger Tour event in Barletta, his first time in the last four at that level.

“This is a funny video for my brother, he reached his first semi-final in a Challenger,” Matteo said in a video in Italian after his own victory against Lorenzo Sonego. “I’m very proud of him. I watched streaming just before going on court myself. Proud of you, love you and sorry for my hair, but I just came off the court!”

BERRETTINI BROTHER BRILLIANCE 🤝

Matteo watched his brother’s match before he took to the court himself. They both made the semi-finals ❤️

Jacopo is into his first-ever Challenger semi-final, whilst Matteo is back in his first semi since 2022 💪 Forza!

📸: @MattBerrettini pic.twitter.com/BIXAePjhwn

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 5, 2024

Jacopo told ATPTour.com: “It's crazy. It's crazy. He saw me before his match, I saw him after my match. We keep in touch every day. Now I sent to him one voice message to ask him, 'What do you think about my match?' We are talking about that.

“It's really good to see him also playing and winning and enjoying his tournament because he passed two, three years really tough, so he deserves this result. But I think he's hungry and he wants to win again tomorrow. Very good luck for him and for both of us.”

Jacopo, who is 25, is currently No. 878 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The Italian had a 4-7 record in 2024 at all levels entering the week, but has beaten two players — Chun-Hsin Tseng and Benjamin Bonzi — who have reached the Top 100.

“I did a good match in Naples with [Samuel Vincent] Ruggeri. I lost, but I deserved it more and I think it's not [that things have] clicked, it's a process that started in November,” Jacopo said. “We have a new coach, new staff and now the result is going to come. I think it's not just a click, it's a process. It's coming from a lot of months ago, after a lot of injuries. I think the most important thing is now I'm enjoying what I'm doing. I'm fighting a lot. This one is the the key to win and to enjoy every moment of this beautiful sport.”

It has been a memorable week for a player who last year at the ATP 500 in Acapulco qualified and won his first-round match in the main draw. Jacopo is keen to finish the week on a high.

“I’m feeling amazing. It's a very good feeling. I think I deserve it a lot. It's not over, the tournament, so I want to I want to go so far in this tournament,” Jacopo said. “I’m feeling very well, the crowd is crazy and I want to fight again tomorrow. It's going to be a tough match, but I want to really enjoy this moment and these matches so it's time to fight again tomorrow.”