Matteo Berrettini is no stranger to a trophy presentation. The Italian reached the Wimbledon final in 2021 and has 10 titles to his name. But he recently participated in arguably the strangest ceremony he will ever experience after winning an unusual tournament.
During Indian Wells, two retired tennis players turned up at a car park to present the world No. 29 with an £11 gift card for a chain restaurant. Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey are among the hosts of the Nothing Major podcast, and they recently ran a hilarious competition which Berrettini won.
Johnson and Querrey host the podcast with former top-10 players John Isner and Jack Sock. The American quartet explored an entertaining topic in their recent episodes – finding out who was the “hottest” ATP tennis player.
The Nothing Major presenters created their own “hottie bracket”, pitting current tennis players against each other in the style of a knockout tennis draw and asking their fans and followers to vote in each round until they crowned a champion.
After days of voting, with the likes of British No. 1 Jack Draper and three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud also included in the draw, it came down to a championship clash between Berrettini and Tommy Paul – and Berrettini emerged victorious with 64 per cent of the vote.
The former world No. 6 was delighted with his victory and joked that it was his 11th career title. And the Nothing Major boys followed through with a trophy presentation, handing Berrettini his prize in Indian Wells.
Johnson and Querrey gave Berrettini a winner’s sash, an engraved trophy and – most importantly – an £11 ($15) gift card to Olive Garden, a fitting prize for an Italian tennis player.
They also made sure to honour the runner-up, world No. 11 Paul. The American received a second-place trophy, though he didn’t look too happy in the photos.
“The People’s Champion,” the hosts wrote on the Nothing Major Instagram account. “Matteo Berrettini was officially presented with his ‘Hottie Bracket’ championship trophy and Olive Garden gift card in a prestigious sunny Indian Wells parking lot.”
The retired players also joked that they deserved an Olive Garden deal after presenting Berrettini with an enlarged gift certificate.
“Can you believe this wasn’t sponsored by Olive Garden? Ps: @olivegarden dm us,” they commented.
After giving both players their silverware, Johnson wrote: “Tommy said he will be working hard to avenge this tough loss!!”
While Berrettini won the “hottie bracket”, he didn’t fare so well in Indian Wells, losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in a tough third-round clash.
Paul has bragging rights over the former Wimbledon finalist as he’s already done better in the Californian desert this week, making it to the round of 16.