“I would play on the grass for hours and hours.” Matteo Berrettini sees green and is reborn. In Stuttgart he also beat the Australian Duckworth – who had eliminated Ben Shelton in the previous round – 6-4 7-5 and is in the semi-finals. Grass wants, Matteo, finalist at Wimbledon in 2021, two-time winner of Queen’s, who has already triumphed twice in Stuttgart: in 2019, his first “vegetable” title and in 2022. In the semi-final he will find Lorenzo Musetti, who has overcame Aleksandr Bubik, who retired at 1-1 (4-6 6-1 1-0).
«I played a solid match, especially on serve, not allowing any break points, trying to be as aggressive as I could, always fielding the return to put pressure on my opponent».
A victory that comes on the eve of Spalletti’s Italy’s debut at the European Championships in Germany, and which lights up the ‘parallel’ memory of three years ago, when in London Matteo and the Azzurri then coached by Mancini celebrated together in London, in an unforgettable Sunday for Italian sport, one the victory of the European title against England, and the other the first final ever reached by an Italian at Church Road. «Three years ago, thanks to the boys, I experienced some wonderful moments – said Matteo – I wish them all the best of luck for tomorrow’s match».
After the long break following the bad ankle injury in New York last September, ‘The Hammer’ returned to the top in 2024 at the Challenger in Phoenix, immediately reaching the final. In Miami he went out in the first round against Andy Murray, then on clay came the victory in Marrakech and the defeat in the first round in Monte-Carlo, before yet another visit of bad luck: tonsillitis which forced him to withdraw in Monaco and Madrid and the very painful renunciation of Rome and Paris.
As soon as the “season” – too short – on the grass begins, however, Matteo is reborn, or rather flourishes again as a plant suitable for continental and British meadows. In his career he has played seven quarter-finals on grass, and won all seven. «Why is it so difficult to face me on the grass? Better to ask my opponents, but I think it’s above all about the serve and how I use the slice.” A question therefore to be asked by Lorenzo Musetti, another Italian talent on the road to recovery who – by passing the round – gave us a derby that ensures the presence of an Italian in the final: the grass couldn’t have welcomed us better than this. TV appointment tomorrow on Sky.
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