The Ligurian, who beat Djokovic, is the only Italian at Queen’s: “I am more prepared than last year. Rune will be at the first game on the grass, instead I don’t: I have to turn it into an advantage”
“D Aresere are the only Italian on the scoreboard?”. Matteo Arnaldi has only looked at that his journey at the Queen’s – ATP 500 at the start today in London – begins against Holger Rune, the Danish series head number 4 against which he played only once in his career, losing. The rest, for the number 41 of the world with a great desire to prove that it is better, is the background of an attempt to progress more and more, even on that grass where she now feels to play well.
Matteo, with what expectations does this tournament begin?
“I am more prepared than last year, I have not found the best of the scoreboards but here there are many difficult opponents. Rune will be at the first game on the grass, instead I don’t: I have to turn it into an advantage”.
He has already played with the Danish.
“Yes, but that game is difficult to calculate: I was not at the best, at the last commitment of the year in a tournament, Paris-Burcy, which does not drive me crazy. He is not a simple opponent to play against, but I hope it will be another game compared to that of last year”.
The Queen’s is the tournament preceding Wimbledon: how much is you working in perspective and how much on the tournament you play?
“We try to do both. Wimbledon is certainly the goal, but I need points and take that step forward that I always say: all tournaments are important for me right now”.
For Wimbledon what goal has it been given?
“Winning a match, given that in recent years I have lost twice in the first round. I will definitely get there more prepared, but not being a series head it will also have to see the scoreboard. My goal must be done well at Queen’s to play as many games as possible on the grass and then give everything to Wimbledon”.
Here is the only Italian: extra liability?
“For those who look, it is certainly important to have many strong Italians, but each of us thinks about his way. It is nice to have friends who are good, sorry for what happened to Jannik but everyone thinks about his things. It is an individual sport, not as a team: it’s nice if other Italians win, but in the end when you enter the field you are you, so try to give the best”.
Where did the best Arnaldi see this year?
“Madrid was a nice tournament. My main goal, as I said in Australia, is trying to be more continuous during the year: lately I did it enough. I did well in Madrid, then if we do not count on Rome where I still played a good game I played the quarters in Geneva, the second round in Paris with two beautiful games. I am playing much better, I am improving only the results, but they will certainly miss the results.
In Madrid he beat Djokovic, his idol, confessing that he had a sort of reverential fear for him.
“It wasn’t really fear: at that moment I was tense because I played against a person I always watched on TV and admired as a child. Already when I faced him in Geneva it was all normal, but in that first game, playing against a person I always admired, he made me an effect entering and hearing my name together with his”.
Is there anyone else who has the same effect?
“I start to be a little big, now those who could do it have retired. It would have happened with Murray, although perhaps having trained with him it would have been different. It would have happened with Nadal and Federer, since I never trained with them: it is the fact of playing the first time, to exchange two words, whether in training or in the game, where you are obviously more tense”.
Objective for his 2025?
“I don’t say the ranking position. But I have to go on with what I am doing: try to improve. And in my opinion I am playing a lot, much better than last year”.
As an Inter fan what is it, if he did a season like the Nerazzurri, in tennis parameters how would it be?
“Good, surely. The title has been missing and you always want to win, but Inter has made a very good season that had not arrived for years, and even if they have not won they showed that they are a very competitive team. Even if now there has been a change, there is that for one or two years the team is not at the top: we will try to get it back”.
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