Italians have long celebrated a rich history in tennis. From the prestigious Internazionali BNL d’Italia, a staple on the ATP World Tour for more than 80 years, to its legendary superstars including Adriano Panatta and Nicola Pietrangeli, it’s safe to say that il Tricolore has always deserved its place among the flags of great tennis nations.

But as the current generation of Italian stalwarts continues to age, the question remains: who will fly their proud flag in the future? Enter Matteo Berrettini. 

The 21-year-old Italian, who hails from Rome, has been surging on the ATP Challenger Tour over the past year, claiming his maiden title on home soil in San Benedetto in 2017 and a second crown in Bergamo in February. Add to that a final at the $150,000 Challenger event in Irving, Texas, last week and suddenly the young Italian finds himself blasting into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time. He is youngest from his country to reach the milestone since Fabio Fognini in 2009.

“I’m really excited, because I have been dreaming about this since I was a child,” said Berrettini. “I started to play when I was seven and I was always thinking about it. But I’m here now and it’s not my final goal. I hope to work hard and improve a lot.”

Welcome to the Top 100, Matteo Berrettini! The ?? soars to No. 95 in the ATP Rankings after reaching the final at the @IrvingClassic.

Profile ➡️ https://t.co/nuJP8AFNVc pic.twitter.com/ahTMhaOidt

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) March 19, 2018

The right-hander admits that although his game and his results have improved rapidly over the past year on the ATP Challenger Tour, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. 

“Two years ago, I was injured for about six months. And one year ago I was outside the Top 400. I didn’t expect this to happen so fast,” he said. “I’m really happy and enjoying the moment … I’d like to just keep improving myself and my best ranking. That’s tennis. It’s a lot of work to do but I look forward to it.”

At 6’4”, Berrettini packs a predictably potent serve and booming forehand that sees his game more at home on hard courts than the clay courts that countrymen such as Fognini have made a name for themselves upon. He possesses versatility on his backhand wing and, alongside longtime coach Vicenzo Santopadre, has developed new elements in his game to help him make further inroads towards the top of the game. 

“My coach is a like a second father. We’ve been together for eight years. I spend more time with him than my own family,” teased Berrettini. “It’s not a joke because it’s important for me to spend a lot of time with him, in and outside of tennis. I’m glad that’s here with me always.

“We work hard every day on all my strokes. My serve and my forehand are my best weapons, but I have improved a lot with my backhand and my movement on the court,” said the Italian of his style of play. “I need to play more aggressive, in attack mode. I’m very tall and need to improve these kinds of things. I have to attack the point quickly, because I’m not the kind of player that likes to play too many strokes.”

The 2018 season has also seen Berrettini make progress on the ATP World Tour level. At the start of the season, he won his first tour-level match in Doha, coming from a set down to defeat Viktor Troicki after coming through qualifying. Weeks later, he played his first main draw at the Grand Slam.

Tour life appears to be coming along nicely for Berrettini, but even in the wake of recent successes, he manages to keep a level head.

“I’m here in the Top 100 now, but I don’t like to put too much pressure on myself with the ATP Rankings. I would like to improve myself and my tennis. I’m really happy to do this and play tennis around the world. I want to become the best person I can be.”

Yoshihito Nishioka has made coming back from a major knee injury look simple this week at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

He scouted his #NextGenATP opponent by watching YouTube videos. He adapted his gamestyle and played aggressively against Aussie Alex de Minaur. Then, during only his fifth match of the past 12 months, he routed the Sydney International finalist to set a second-round contest with 10^th seed Tomas Berdych.

But don’t let the soft-spoken left-hander’s easy success deceive you: Nishioka’s rehab from a torn ACL in his left knee was as arduous as you’d expect.

After surgery in early April 2017, Nishioka couldn’t run for three months. He couldn’t play tennis for nine months. Every day, he trudged to rehab in Tokyo, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., and then from 3-6 p.m, followed by another hour of training in the evening.

Some days, he felt depressed. He wanted to quit. He confided in countryman Kei Nishikori, who was going through his own rehab on his right wrist. Nishikori advised him to take a couple days off when he felt especially down.

“It was very tough for me,” Nishioka told ATPWorldTour.com. “I wanted to move, and I didn’t feel any pain but inside the knee, it was still very, very weak. So I had to stay. Everything, I couldn’t do it.”

While Nishioka was injured, his countryman Yuichi Sugita had the season of his career. He won his maiden ATP World Tour title at the Antalya Open in Turkey and cracked the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings.

But Nishioka harboured mixed feelings for his friend’s breakthrough.

“That was very good for Japanese tennis, but I felt a little bit mad because I was doing great before I got injured. And maybe I would have won a title too,” Nishioka said.

Before the 2017 Miami Open presented by Itau, the 5’7” left-hander had reached the quarter-finals in Acapulco and the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open, his maiden Round of 16 at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

Watch Nishioka Uncovered

Nishioka, then-No. 58 in the ATP Rankings, arrived in South Florida full of belief and was leading American Jack Sock 3-1 when he slid to his left and his leg “stopped”.

Nishioka slightly stumbled, leaning on his racquet as he regrouped. He played for two-and-a-half more games before rain suspended play. He eventually retired from the second-round match.

“I didn’t know how badly my knee was injured. I had never had an injury like that. I didn’t feel any pain so, [I thought], ‘Well I can play’. But my coach and the physio said, ‘You tore your ACL for sure. You have to stop’,” Nishioka said.

Better days, however, have come for Nishioka, who returned to ATP World Tour action in January, a full nine months after his injury. This week in Miami, Nishioka picked up his second win of the season after claiming his Australian Open first-rounder (d. Kohlschreiber).

Read More: The Maturation of France’s Mannarino

Nishikori, who also has successfully returned from injury, sees a better future ahead for Nishioka and Japanese tennis.

“Very happy to see him back. He was out for almost a year so he’s dropped his ranking, but I’m sure he can be Top 50 easy. Now Sugita is Top 50 so I hope to see [Nishioka] Top 50 again, Nishikori said.

“We are good friends. We always hang out. I’m happy to see him here, doing well. Hopefully he can keep winning.”

Nishioka, who’s slipped to No. 374 in the ATP Rankings, has a little further to go before he feels completely back. He estimates he’s at about 80 per cent of his former self, but, most importantly and what especially causes the 22-year-old to grin, is the fact that, 12 months after he couldn’t run or play tennis, he’s playing the sport he loves pain-free.

“I don’t feel anything… I can move well. I can run,” Nishioka said. “Tennis is all I can do. But if I can’t do tennis, I can’t do anything. So I’m very happy to be coming back, and hopefully no more injuries.”

Jean-Julien Rojer collected the 350th doubles win of his career Friday when he teamed with Horia Tecau at the Miami Open to defeat recent Indian Wells champion Jack Sock and Nicholas Monroe 6-1, 7-6(2).

Rojer, 36, claimed the first of his 26 titles in 2010 in Tokyo.

In another result of significance, American duo Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey upset top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 7-6(0). Since beginning the year 7-1, including a title in Sydney, last year’s No. 1 team has gone 2-4 in its past four outings, including back-to-back first-round losses in Indian Wells and Miami.

Eighth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah defeated Aussie duo Nick Kyrgios and Matt Reid 7-5, 7-5.

Watch all doubles matches live online