Beyond ‘Break Point’ for Matteo Berrettini

On Friday, the television series Break Point launched on Netflix and my scheduled interview with Matteo Berrettini vanished from the Italian tennis champion’s schedule faster than his opening serve. Three days later he phones from a treatment table, still processing the increased attention he has received from the documentary, while preparing for his first round in the Australian Open against Andy Murray.

“Obviously, it wasn’t an easy choice,” Berrettini, 26, says of participating in the series. “We weren’t sure about how much we could say but once we decided to do it, we went full-on, or it doesn’t make sense. We had to show who we are, on and off court.”

The series is a behind-the-scenes look at top-level tennis players and follows Berrettini’s journey to the semifinals at last year’s Australian Open, his psychological challenges, along with tense encounters with his then-girlfriend, Australian player Ajla Tomljanovic.

“Some moments are not easy to share… when you lose, when you’re injured,” he says.

“Hopefully, it shows kids dreaming about tennis and coming from a normal family, that you can make it.”

The experience also gave Berrettini the chance to witness Australian style at the red carpet premiere for the series in Melbourne, attended by Tomljanovic, Nick Kyrgios, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz, away from the sea of face paint and T-shirts in arenas.

“The red carpet here is not that formal,” he says. “It’s not all high heels like in Italy. I like the summer vibes and the surfer feel.”

As an ambassador and model, standing 1.96 m tall, for German fashion giant Hugo Boss, Berrettini’s opinion carries more weight than many of his dishevelled opponents. He has collaborated with the casual Boss range on a capsule collection of stretch-polo shirts, simple hoodies, caps and shorts, although an Italian turning to Germany for fashion is as shocking as ordering Cacio e Pepe in Munich.