Q: Matteo, you come back to Rio. Is it one of your favorite places?
A: Yeah, I'm really, really happy. It's been already four Years. Time is flying. I am really happy because everybody knows that I have family here, I have good friends and it's a city that I love, and I think the atmosphere that experienced four years ago was very nice, even though it was raining a lot. So finger crossed for this week. And yeah, I'm really excited to get started. I
Q: You are the grandson of a Brazilian woman, right? What kind of memories do you have of Brazil and the Portuguese language through your grandmother? And do you speak a little bit of the language?
A: I have a lot of memories. I don't remember the first time I came, because I was nine months. They took me here because my grandma and my mom, they wanted to show me. Obviously, introduce me to the family that was back here. I remember coming here, being on the beach, and drinking coconut water and I couldn't wait that my grandma would come back to bring some ‘pão de queijo’, these things that now you can actually find in Italy, in Europe a little bit, but when I was a kid, that wasn't that easy. So we are really excited to go there and have this kind of food. I don't speak Portuguese, unfortunately, but I understand, don't ask me something Portuguese. Sorry. I understand when you guys speak a little bit slower and and I'm trying to learn, but I speak Spanish, so it's really tough. I get confused. It's not easy, but I have a good Portuguese in me.
Q: These days we have the One Vision Program for ATP and 2029 we are going to a new Masters 1000 in Arabia, and this clay court swing here in South America, there some in risk. What do you think about this?
A: So I obviously know that it's gonna be a new Masters 1000 in Arabia. And I also know that this swing can be in trouble a little bit. South America loves tennis, and I think, like I said at the beginning, the atmosphere that you experience. I've been in Buenos Aires last week and I played Rio again. And I know also, for example, in Santiago, the atmosphere is really nice. A lot of fans, they come to watch. So I think South America deserves these kind of tournaments and we should try to have, you know, best tournaments possible in South America at the same time. I don't feel much power about that, you know, like, I know that there is the ATP, the council, the board, and they take the decisions, and we vote for the board. But it's complicated and there is a lot of money, a lot of things involved. And it doesn't really matter what I think. I think in order to take a big decision, what I think is that South America deserves tournaments, but then, you know, like maybe other 100 players don't think that and, you know, they're going to make a difference. So what I think is that we should try to keep tennis at the highest level. And this doesn't mean that playing too much means that the level is really high. It means that there are a lot of tournaments, but players are going to be more tired. And obviously, if there are more tournaments, there are more people watching. But you know, it's complicated. We have to find a balance, definitely. Because if you look at the numbers, a lot of people are getting retired during the tournaments. All the young ones are getting injured already. So we have to be careful about that. I'm already in the last stage of my career, but for the well being of tennis, but at the same time, obviously there are more money involved for the players and stuff so it we have to find the balance to make a perfect tour.
A: Yeah, I'm really, really happy. It's been already four Years. Time is flying. I am really happy because everybody knows that I have family here, I have good friends and it's a city that I love, and I think the atmosphere that experienced four years ago was very nice, even though it was raining a lot. So finger crossed for this week. And yeah, I'm really excited to get started. I
Q: You are the grandson of a Brazilian woman, right? What kind of memories do you have of Brazil and the Portuguese language through your grandmother? And do you speak a little bit of the language?
A: I have a lot of memories. I don't remember the first time I came, because I was nine months. They took me here because my grandma and my mom, they wanted to show me. Obviously, introduce me to the family that was back here. I remember coming here, being on the beach, and drinking coconut water and I couldn't wait that my grandma would come back to bring some ‘pão de queijo’, these things that now you can actually find in Italy, in Europe a little bit, but when I was a kid, that wasn't that easy. So we are really excited to go there and have this kind of food. I don't speak Portuguese, unfortunately, but I understand, don't ask me something Portuguese. Sorry. I understand when you guys speak a little bit slower and and I'm trying to learn, but I speak Spanish, so it's really tough. I get confused. It's not easy, but I have a good Portuguese in me.
Q: These days we have the One Vision Program for ATP and 2029 we are going to a new Masters 1000 in Arabia, and this clay court swing here in South America, there some in risk. What do you think about this?
A: So I obviously know that it's gonna be a new Masters 1000 in Arabia. And I also know that this swing can be in trouble a little bit. South America loves tennis, and I think, like I said at the beginning, the atmosphere that you experience. I've been in Buenos Aires last week and I played Rio again. And I know also, for example, in Santiago, the atmosphere is really nice. A lot of fans, they come to watch. So I think South America deserves these kind of tournaments and we should try to have, you know, best tournaments possible in South America at the same time. I don't feel much power about that, you know, like, I know that there is the ATP, the council, the board, and they take the decisions, and we vote for the board. But it's complicated and there is a lot of money, a lot of things involved. And it doesn't really matter what I think. I think in order to take a big decision, what I think is that South America deserves tournaments, but then, you know, like maybe other 100 players don't think that and, you know, they're going to make a difference. So what I think is that we should try to keep tennis at the highest level. And this doesn't mean that playing too much means that the level is really high. It means that there are a lot of tournaments, but players are going to be more tired. And obviously, if there are more tournaments, there are more people watching. But you know, it's complicated. We have to find a balance, definitely. Because if you look at the numbers, a lot of people are getting retired during the tournaments. All the young ones are getting injured already. So we have to be careful about that. I'm already in the last stage of my career, but for the well being of tennis, but at the same time, obviously there are more money involved for the players and stuff so it we have to find the balance to make a perfect tour.
