The Roman’s march towards the first Slam title continues: Matteo overtakes the Russian Rublev in the (virtual) ranking and in the next round he finds Monfils (already beaten)
Man in black does not tremble. Assisted by his arsenal, serve and forehand, Matteo Berrettini dressed in black for the night session Pablo Carreno Busta hurries up the practice in three sets (7-5, 7-6, 6-?) confirming himself as king of the tie break and man to beat at the Australian Open, the tournament clinging to the old guard (Nadal crashes the French Mannarino) who surprisingly loses Sasha Zverev, n.3 in the ranking, clouded by the talent of the Canadian Shapovalov (6-3 , 7-6, 6-3) and by his own mistakes (If I play like this I do not deserve neither the Slam nor the number one in the world the ferocious self-criticism of the German). Against the number 21 in the world, an anomalous Spaniard who loves fast surfaces, Matteo is careful and precise. Without flaws, he annexes the first direct confrontation with Carreno, qualifying for the quarter-finals in Melbourne – where he finds the revived French Monfils, already beaten at the Slam level in the 2019 Open USA quarters after a fierce hand-to-hand ATP ranking the Russian Andrei Rublev, who collapsed with the old Cilic. From Monday Berrettini will be number 6 in the world.
Pitfalls and no precedents
An evening match, insidious (the balls become heavier and slower), without references: the only time that Matteo and Pablo met was a training who knows when and where, official matches have never gone to the archive. The Spaniard immediately makes his intentions clear: he keeps the first game at zero, many dynamics – of course – will pass from that serve that Berrettini to tame the striving youth of Carlos Alcaraz has kept at sidereal levels, of course.
The first set remains tied until 5-5, with Matteo who manages to venture into Carreno’s serve only once (0-30), but in the eleventh game he breaks thanks to two tapes: he apologizes and collapses the opponent 0 -40. Three break points. The first is enough: straight off the angry Spaniard. 6-5 Berrettini, who does not make himself untouchable in service despite two aces: he offers a break point to Carreno, which he cancels with the third ace in the game, then comes the fourth, manna from heaven, which is worth the set point. Service and straight, house specialty. 7-5 in 42’.
The weapon of mass destruction works, the Australian Open quarters are more than a possibility.
The inertia continues
The second set maintains the inertia of the end of the first. For Berrettini there are immediately three very tempting opportunities to snatch the serve from Carreno, who is good at canceling them with the complicity of the Roman (very valuable the dampened vole of the Spaniard to cancel the second chance). No way. There is another missed opportunity for Matteo in the ninth game, at 4-4, but the fate of the challenge only postponed. the tie break to break the equilibrium that Carreno managed with difficulty to keep up until here. Supported in the service rounds by the service (3 aces in the tie break) and by an enviable centering (Smash the ball! He encourages himself), the blue closes 7-4 (7-6) with a winning service, superior in everything to the opponent. Also filed the second set.
Match addressed
The first break point of the third set for Berrettini arrives in the sixth game, the match addressed but Carreno finds the energy to cancel it, although after two sets spent responding to the Italian’s broadsides by now he seems a bit short of ideas. It ends in the tenth game (6-4), with a break point on Carreno’s serve as well as a match point. 28 aces, 87% of points won with the former, 57 winners (29 those of the rival), the Australian Open tab (last year he had to retire due to injury) defeated: I was precise, Pablo couldn’t read my serve, when I serve so well I have more energy when I go to answer. I recovered well from the match with Alcaraz, the work of the off season is paying off, I meet Monfils like in New York: I remember a very hard match, he has a very physical tennis but I feel good, I’m playing well, I’m ready for battle.
Berrettini in the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam for the fourth time in a row, the fifth in his career. Versatile, continuous, true champion.
Premium gives
In Melbourne Meshkatolzahra Safi and Angella Okutoyi are the first Iranian and Kenyan women to win a Grand Slam match in the junior tournament. Safi is 17 years old, number 74 in the Under 18 world, in 2021 he won ten category titles, between singles and doubles. His career supported by a development program of the International Youth Tennis Federation in disadvantaged countries, he began playing in Karaj, an industrial city not far from Tehran, the capital of the province of Alborz. It is not easy to choose to be a tennis player in Iran – she explains -, where so many people discourage you by telling you that you will never make it, as a woman. But the challenges don’t scare me: getting to play a Grand Slam was at the top of my dreams. The Iranian Federtennis supports her to push tennis in the country: football, volleyball and wrestling are national sports, having a strong tennis player would give Iran visibility even in a sport with global popularity. A good investment.
Fognini and Bolelli advance
The Slam winners (right at the Australian Open, in 2015) Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli continue their race towards a second title together: in Melbourne the Azzurri beat Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in three sets (3-6, 7-6 , 6-3) canceling a match point in the tie break of the second set and fly to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. It would be worth betting on the pair also in a Davis Cup key.
January 23, 2022 (change January 23, 2022 | 13:25)
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