Berrettini makes a successful return to competition!

© AFP

Elio Valotto

le 11/06/2024 à 16h46

2 min to read

Berrettini Marrakech Safiullin Stuttgart

Matteo Berrettini is not giving up. After his comeback in Marrakech, where he won the title, the Italian giant suffered another injury. In search of a satisfactory level, he had not played in official competition since the beginning of April and a heavy defeat in Monte-Carlo (6-3, 6-1, against Kecmanovic).

But now the clay-court season is over, and the grass-court season has begun. And grass is precisely the surface on which the former world No. 6 has achieved his greatest successes. Thus, by activating his Priority Ranking (a status which enables players returning from injury to enter the final tables directly), he entered Stuttgart this week.

Currently ranked 95th in the world, he faced a dangerous opponent in his first match this afternoon: Roman Safiullin (ranked 43rd and seeded 8th in the draw). Without playing his best tennis, the Transalpine relied on his strengths, so effective on grass, to get through (7-6, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 h 55). As good as ever on serve and forehand (27 aces, 73% first ball, 46 winners), Berrettini seized the opportunity perfectly.

For a place in the quarter-finals, he will face the winner of the match between Martineau and Shapovalov.

One thing's for sure: a return to his best from the 28-year-old would spice up the grass-court season. After all, he has posed a serious threat over the last three years. In 2021, he won 11 of his 12 matches on the surface, taking the title at Queen's and reaching the final at Wimbledon (beaten by Djokovic, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3). By 2022, he had won all his matches played on grass, taking back-to-back titles at Stuttgart and Queen's (withdrawal from Wimbledon due to Covid-19 contamination). And last year, he completed a stunning British Grand Slam, eliminating Zverev and De Minaur before falling to Alcaraz in four sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3).

Stay tuned!