MATTEO BERRETTINI is into the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time, where he will face one of his closest pals in tennis.
The Italian takes on Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada, and the players have been brought together by the fact their girlfriends are cousins!
Who is Matteo Berrettini’s girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic?
Tomljanovic was born on May 7, 1993 in Zagreb in Croatia.
Until 2021, she had only got beyond the second round in one Grand Slam, the 2014 French Open.
But she reached a career high ranking of 39 in April 2019, having originally starred more in doubles.
Tomljanovic has yet to win a tournament on the WTA circuit, making four finals – including the Hua Hin Championships in Thailand in February, where she lost to Dayana Yastremska.
The tennis star switched her national allegiances from Croatia to Australia after beginning to compete for the Aussies at the 2014 US Open.
Despite obtaining permanent residency, she still had to represent Croatia at non-Grand Slam tournaments until gaining full Australian citizenship in January 2018.
Who is Matteo Berrettini?
Matteo Berrettini is an Italian tennis player ranked number nine in the world (June 2021).
In 2019, he enjoyed his career best grand slam finish as he reached the semi-final of the US Open before losing in straight sets to Rafael Nadal.
And the Italian is in good form in 2021, having reached the fourth round of the Australian Open before being forced to retire injured ahead of his match with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
He then made it all the way to the quarter-final of the French Open last month, where he gave Novak Djokovic a big test before losing in four sets.
World number one Djokovic was seen screaming with relief after making it through the match.
OFICIAL | @DjokerNole será el rival de @RafaelNadal en las semifinales de @RolandGarros
Djokovic 6⃣ 6⃣ 6⃣ 7⃣
Berrettini 3⃣ 2⃣ 7⃣ 5⃣#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/5VecSzLkvB
— El Partidazo de COPE (@partidazocope) June 9, 2021
Are Berrettini and Tomljanovic dating?
It had been reported that the pair were getting quite close with each other, having photographed themselves shopping in Austria.
Berrettini was in Vienna for a tournament, while Tomljanovic’s WTA season had finished.
And if that hint wasn’t big enough, fellow tennis star Maria Sakkari ensured everyone knew by responding to the Instagram post with several loved-up emojis.
And with their relationship now official, the two players are regularly seen supporting their partners at each others’ matches.
Berrettini said: “I feel like 10 times more stressed watching her match than when I’m playing my match. So I like it when we’re playing at the same time.
“I finished first, like five minutes before. I’m playing best of five, so I didn’t know if she won her match because they weren’t showing the score. So I was like ‘maybe she finished before me, maybe she’s coming here’.
“Then I was like making movies; maybe she lost, maybe she’s upset. I stepped out of the court and my coach said it was 5-1. Then I saw it was 15-40 and I was like ‘oh no’. I would rather play than watch her match.”
Did Ajla Tomljanovic date Nick Kyrgios?
Tomljanovic dated her fellow Aussie and tennis player Nick Kyrgios for two years, before the pair broke it off in 2017.
Kyrgios, often seen as the bad boy of tennis for his regular outbursts on the court, posted photos of him and Tomljanovic during their time together whether it was away on holiday or on the court.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.sportingexcitement.com/tennis/andy-murray-and-gary-lineker-jump-to-defend-emma-raducanu-18-after-kp-and-piers-morgan-question-mental-toughness
