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Awkward Matteo Berrettini interview fuels wild relationship speculation: ‘Is this live?’

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Cite

Reilly, B. (2026, October 28). Awkward Matteo Berrettini interview fuels wild relationship speculation: ‘Is this live?’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/28/sports/awkward-matteo-berrettini-interview-fuels-wild-relationship-speculation/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-28 · by Bridget Reilly

Quick Summary

During a post-match interview at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Italian tennis player Matteo Berrettini responded awkwardly when asked about his compatriot Lorenzo Musetti’s recent victory, sparking speculation about a romantic rivalry with Berrettini’s ex-girlfriend Vanessa Bellini. The article details how Berrettini has unfollowed Musetti on Instagram and discusses the potential impact of their strained relationship on Italy's Davis Cup team selection, noting that Berrettini was not chosen for the squad while Musetti was included despite similar rankings in tennis world standings.
Written by AI on 2026-10-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

During a post-match interview at the ATP 500 Erste Bank Open in Vienna on October 24, Matteo Berrettini responded awkwardly when asked if his fellow Italian and "friend" Lorenzo Musetti's recent Lyon Open title was inspiring. Berrettini's hesitant and seemingly uncomfortable response fueled speculation that Musetti had a romantic relationship with Berrettini’s ex-girlfriend, Vanessa Bellini, after their breakup this summer. Following the interview, Berrettini unfollowed Musetti on Instagram, while Musetti remains following him. The incident has sparked significant discussion in Italian tennis circles and media outlets.

Written for “Matteo Berrettini Interview Controversy” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Matteo Berrettini Interview Controversy
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
9%
2 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-28 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 17197 article(s) · 36 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 36 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Bridget Reilly
81 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Bridget Reilly
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 81 articles by Bridget Reilly →

Topics

Davis Cup Italian Lyon Open Vienna the ATP 500 Erste Bank Open

Subjects

Berrettini PERSON · 9× Musetti PERSON · 9× Italian NORP · 5× Matteo Berrettini PERSON · 2× France GPE · 1× Instagram ORG · 1× Lorenzo Musetti PERSON · 1× Vanessa Bellini PERSON · 1× Veronica Confalonieri PERSON · 1× Vienna GPE · 1×

Narrative

During a post-match interview with the ATP 500 Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Monday, the 30-year-old was asked if fellow Italian and “friend” Lorenzo Musetti’s recent Lyon Open title in France serves as “inspiration.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-28
🔮 “The next few weeks leading up to our new Davis Cup adventure will be crucial for me,” he told Italian media per Tennis 365.

Claims (23 extracted, 2 hedged)

Matteo Berrettini has poured fuel on an Italian tennis fire. asserted
Berrettini → pour → fire
During a post-match interview with the ATP 500 Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Monday, the 30-year-old was asked if fellow Italian and “friend” Lorenzo Musetti’s recent Lyon Open title in France serves as “inspiration.” asserted
title → ask → inspiration
Berrettini didn’t answer immediately but came out with, “Is it live?” before giving seemingly a restrained response. asserted
it → answer → response
Through several pauses and awkward laughs, he said, “It’s okay….I know he worked really hard to come back and I guess he deserved it.” asserted
he → say → it
Berrettini then walked away from the camera. asserted
Berrettini → walk → camera
The awkward response fueled rumors that Musetti, who won his first title since 2022, allegedly hooked up with Berrettini’s ex-girlfriend, Italian dancer Vanessa Bellini. uncertain
who → fuel → girlfriend
The two broke up this summer after nearly a year of dating. asserted
two → break → dating
As of Wednesday, it seems the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up has unfollowed Musetti on Instagram while the 24-year-old Italian still follows his compatriot. asserted
Italian → seem → compatriot
Musetti and his girlfriend, Veronica Confalonieri, still follow each other. asserted
Musetti → follow → other
The couple has been together since 2022 and share two sons together, two-year-old Ludovico and near one-year-old Leandro, who was born in November 2025. asserted
who → share → November
Musetti recently posted various photos of the couple while in Tokyo earlier this month. asserted
Musetti → post → Tokyo
Both Berrettini and Musetti were members of the 2024 Davis Cup-winning team together. asserted
Berrettini → win → team
In 2025, Musetti didn’t make himself available for the selection while Berrettini went on to win another tournament title. asserted
Berrettini → make → title
This year, Berrettini was not selected for Italy’s Davis Cup squad. asserted
Berrettini → select → squad
Captain Filippo Volandri selected Flavio Cobolli, Luciano Darderi, Andrea Vavassouri, Simone Bolelli and Musetti. asserted
Volandri → select → Cobolli
Some have speculated if Berrettini’s snub had to do with the seemingly strained relationship. asserted
snub → speculate → relationship
Volandri cited his selections were based on current rankings. asserted
selections → cite → rankings
“The next few weeks leading up to our new Davis Cup adventure will be crucial for me,” he told Italian media per Tennis 365. asserted
he → lead → Tennis
“My entire staff and I will work to assess each player’s condition to determine their availability, so we can field the best possible lineup. asserted
we → work → lineup
“We know we have a very strong team, thanks to a wide roster of players, including Matteo Berrettini, Matteo Arnaldi, and Lorenzo Sonego, key players in past seasons.” asserted
we → know → seasons
Berrettini sits at No. 48 in the rankings while Musetti is No. 26. asserted
Musetti → sit → rankings
The two could meet as early as the semifinals in the Vienna Open in the coming days. uncertain
two → meet → days
Berrettini has moved on to the Round of 16 and will face Cobolli on Thursday while Musetti is next taking on Arthur Fery after upsetting American Francis Tiafoe on Wednesday afternoon. asserted
Musetti → move → afternoon
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