An expected comeback!

Berrettini wasn't able to defend his title in Marrakech last year, but now he's physically ready and will come with the desire to win this tournament again.

This is the kind of tournament Berrettini wants to focus on to get wins and confidence back. He absolutely wanted to play in Santiago at altitude but completely messed up there. He played well in Indian Wells and then Miami, you can clearly see him building up form, and what better time of year than now with Marrakech then Monte Carlo. I think he’s hungry and we’ve got two excellent tournaments for him, so we need to be wary. As I said, he won this tournament in 2024 and it’s no surprise on this quick clay: his serve does serious damage and his powerful forehand helps him get out of trouble. I’d say this type of clay is ideal for him. On top of that, with his form coming back and his body holding up this year, he has solid ambitions and will also want revenge because he’s already lost to Buse this year.

That was in Rio, in a match chopped up by interruptions and crazy humidity. When I look at Berrettini’s physical state during the Golden Swing and what he’s shown more recently, I don’t see the same player anymore, either physically or in his game. Buse really wore him down from the baseline, the Peruvian is a good metronome who can vary and pretty much do it all, he was on fire in Rio! He’s given a lot since his comeback and really felt it during the Sunshine Double, he was done against Dzumhur on top of having a foot injury, and it’s an injury that’s been bothering him for several weeks already. He finished his match against Dzumhur, but I think anywhere else he would have stopped.

Buse is an interesting player, but with this slight foot problem and especially the fact that we’re completely changing conditions and continent, I’m not sure he can still catch Berrettini off guard. For a Peruvian it’s easy to play on those South American clays and he had huge support in Miami, but now we’re heading to Morocco for a tournament Berrettini likes, and he’s much sharper physically. The trend is reversing!