Matteo Berrettini had some kind words for Rafael Nadal after coming from behind to knock Cameron Norrie out of the Australian Open. The 28-year-old lost the first set but quickly found his feet, winning the next three to clinch a 6-7 6-4 6-1 6-3 victory. He did not drop a single service game and was simply too strong for Norrie, who struggled to deal with the Italian’s formidable power.

It marks the first time Berrettini has gone beyond the opening round in Melbourne since 2022, when he reached the semi-finals before finally losing to Nadal. He reflected on his last-four clash with the Spaniard in his post-match interview, saying: “It’s never easy. I remember losing against a pretty good lefty here some years ago.”

The interviewer then mentioned Nadal by name, prompting Berrettini to send a classy message to him. He admitted that Nadal’s presence on tour has been sorely missed following his retirement last year, saying: “We say hi to him and we miss him.” Nadal dominated Berrettini across the first two sets of their Australian Open showdown three years ago, but the Italian fought back in the third to avoid a whitewash. The match was decided in the fourth set, with Nadal coming up trumps and advancing to the final.

He went on to win the tournament, coming back from two sets down against Daniil Medvedev to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. Before facing Nadal in the semis, Berrettini said it had always been a childhood dream to lock horns with the veteran at the iconic Rod Laver Arena. “It’s going to be a great opportunity again for me,” he said. “After two years and a half playing this guy that doesn’t need anything more, from my words, for all I said.

“I watch him so many times in this tournament and other tournaments, cheering for him, and playing with him in Rod Laver in the semi-finals is something that I dreamed about when I was a kid.” It remains to be seen if Berrettini will enjoy a similarly deep run at this year’s Australian Open after making the perfect start against Norrie.

He will face a tough test in the second round against Danish seed Holger Rune, who secured a hard-fought win over Zhang Zhizhen on Tuesday. He was nowhere near his best but did enough to edge a decisive fifth set and claim a narrow victory.