In truth, though, Berrettini is not in optimal shape after a lengthy lay-off from the tour. On the grass you need a bomb for some free points.
His route-one combination of huge serves and pulverising forehands caught the attention of a watching Nick Kyrgios, last year’s finalist, who told his Twitter followers that “I think the only person now who honestly can take down or trouble Novak is Berrettini. There were periods where both men were so eager to land the first decisive blow that errors proliferated like wildfire.īut there were also some mesmerising passages of play, especially when Berrettini was at his brightest in the first set. Like a modernist symphony, this match went through several different moods, and not all of them were harmonious. He returned brilliantly throughout, scoring four breaks of serve against a man who had not been broken once during the first three rounds of this event. Four of the last five games went Alcaraz’s way under the lights, and in a hermetically sealed environment that should have made Berrettini’s 135mph blunderbuss of a serve even more destructive.īut then Alcaraz is a hard man to disconcert (except when he is up against Djokovic, who did instil some crippling nerves during that French Open semi-final). The ongoing issues with late-running matches meant that Alcaraz was held up by the closure of the Centre Court roof at around 8.25pm. It raises hopes that he could go on to earn a reprise of that French Open meeting with Djokovic – which became uncompetitive after Alcaraz’s calf cramped up in the third set – in Sunday’s Wimbledon final. This was a statement win for Alcaraz, against a man who has won four of his seven career titles on grass. Back at Wimbledon, Alcaraz’s wonder-shot was the highlight of a compelling four-set victory over Berrettini, the 2021 finalist here.
0 kommentar(er)
