Matteo Berrettini on the mat. Semi-finalist of the 2019 edition, the Italian missed his quarter-final against a Casper Ruud who is only one game away from becoming the next world number 1. First alone on stage, the world number 7 then showed great solidity to recover from his late break in the third set, to finally win the tie break after 2h36 of play (6-1, 6-4 , 7-6 (4)).
The improbable is no longer so far from happening. Who would have bet, at the start of the season, that Casper Ruud, a regular winner in the ATP 250 tournaments, crushed by Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros final, could finish at the top of the world rankings at the end of the US? Open? The Norwegian is however only one victory away from such a coup, thanks to his convincing success against the finalist of the 2021 edition of Wimbledon, who finally paid for an inconsistency already seen during the fortnight.
US Open
Ruud’s splendid forehand to come back to 5-5 in the 3rd set
AN HOUR AGO
Ruud’s splendid forehand to come back to 5-5 in the 3rd set
However, Christian’s son had also shown some signs of feverishness throughout his career, pushed into 5 sets by Tommy Paul in the third round, and able to add a set to play in a match he had at his disposal. hand in the last round against the lucky French loser Corentin Moutet. This time, on the other hand, he had a steel mind to come back in the 3rd set, where Berrettini had found a second wind after an absent start to the match.
Berrettini finally returns to his match: the Italian double break entry in the 3rd set
39 unforced errors for Berrettini
Broken from the start, multiplying the unforced errors (13 in the first set, 39 in total), the Italian conceded a bitter 5-0 from the start. After 27 one-sided minutes, Ruud won the first set and, carried by a favorable wind, he broke his opponent twice in a row in the second set to lead 4-1, then 5-1. It was when he conceded three set points on his serve that Berrettini, helped by a Norwegian whose hand began to shake, revived.
But back to 5-4, he could do nothing on a perfect service game from Ruud, who finally pocketed the second set. Except that Vincenzo Santopadre’s protege, finally released, began to regain his ease in service (7 of his 13 aces in the match in the third set), and his devastating forehands. At 5-2 for him, we believed Berrettini capable of overturning the match. But he missed two set points on his opponent’s serve.
Who took pleasure in making him play very complicated volleys on poorly controlled climbs on the next game, to unbreak, before returning to 5 everywhere, then taking the Italian into the tie break. The latter has started to be friable again, finally yielding in three sets in a tournament where he is used to being intractable. But it is indeed the year of Ruud, who offers himself a second semi-final in a row in a Major, and is now waiting for Nick Kyrgios or Karen Khachanov in the last four.
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US Open
Berrettini finally returns to his match: the Italian double break entry in the 3rd set
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US Open
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