Matteo Berrettini: Hard Work on Fitness During Lockdown is Paying Off

Italy's Matteo Berrettini has been working hard on his fitness during the current lockdown in Florida where he is staying with his girlfriend, WTA player Ajla Tomljanovic.

After working in Monte Carlo during the off-court season in December, Berrettini is continuing to work on his fitness with his trainer remotely.

Speaking to the ATP Tour website, Berrettini says, “We were all tired playing at the end of the year, but all the guys [in London] had more energy. They were better than me physically. When the tournament finished, I told my team that I wanted to improve this for the next year. I wanted to arrive in better condition if I qualified again. I’m still in touch all the time with my fitness trainer, who is with his family now in Italy, and also my coach.”

The Italian says he has lost 4 kgs in recent weeks due to his hard work, “I care about my weight, but it’s not my top priority at this moment. I don’t have to play matches, so I don’t have to be that strict with the diet. But it’s also very hot here and I’m working hard, so I’m sweating a lot. I weighed myself before and after practice the other day and had lost four kilograms.”

Speaking about the current shutdown, Berrettini says training with Tomljanovic does help as he likes training with a partner. "My knee injury [in 2016] gave me seven months to work on my body, so I felt much better when I came back. This situation is much tougher though. My mindset was to use this time to get better, but also come back as soon as possible. Now I’m ready, but understandably, the Tour is not. We work out together and it’s really helpful that she’s there. She pushes me to run more and do more. I used to work out with my brother and it helped me a lot, so I’m really happy when I can train with someone.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2KMLmdd