Risk match between Alcaraz and Berrettini today for the quarterfinals of Wimbledon

The Italian Matteo Berrettini He played in just seventeen games this season, plagued first by a leg injury and then, more recently, by a torn stomach. He missed the clay court tour, he was very close to the grass one, so even “a few days ago I didn’t know if I could play Wimbledon.”

The special relationship he feels with the All England Club motivates him to try. “My life changed here,” he said, recalling his last loss in 2021 against the Serbian Novak Djokovic. Grass suits his strong physical game. A serve that is hard to break, a withering forehand and a cut backhand that allows him to stop the opponent’s attacks. In his professional balance on this surface, 36 games were won and 7 lost.

He became the ATP champion of Stuttgart and Queen’s, in 2022, when he arrived at Wimbledon as the official challenger of Djokovic. He had to withdraw before the start of the tournament due to a positive covid. “One of the worst days of my life,” he admitted.

“If they told me I could play five days in a row, I signed it in blood,” he declared that in the round of 16, after facing his lack of shooting, the danger of rivals and the rain, which earned him several suspensions against his compatriot Lorenzo Sonego, the Australian Alex de Minaur and the german Alexander Zverev.

Today, Monday, on the third shift at the plant, he has an appointment at Carlos Alcaraz, the fourth of them, first of grass. The Spaniards prevailed in the series 2-1. He won the first one, indoors at Vienna 2021, 6-1, 6-7, 7-6, the last one, on the ground at Rio 2022 6-2, 2-6 and 6-2. Still inexperienced, the Spaniard lost in Australia 2022 6-2, 7-6, 4-6, 2-6 and 7-6, when the Roman was experiencing a moment of inspiration.

“This way is what you want, to play against the best in the world. It’s going to be a battle. In Australia there are five sets, in Vienna and Rio three”, he explained.

The transalpine won in Melbourne, the precedent in the Grand Slam, but things have changed, especially the status of Alcaraz. considering it Berrettini: “Now he’s number one, so he’s the best in the world. It will be a big challenge, but I am glad to have this opportunity. I remember seeing him at Roland Garros on television. Now, I’m going out there against him, I’m very happy,” said the Italian.

Alcaraz he was well aware of the difficulties involved Berrettini, 27 years old and No. 38 ATP, although with top-10 quality. Just in case, German Alexander Zverev, who lost in three sets to Roman, issued a warning to Carlos and the other survivors of the draw: “I told Matteo that he can win the tournament if he continues to play like this . This is my opinion. It is true that there are other great players, like Alcaraz, but he is also great. And if he plays like that, to be honest, he has a chance against anyone.

Alcaraz I saw difficulties before I knew if I was playing Berrettini or Zverev. “They both have good lawn tennis and good servers. It will be difficult for either of them”, evaluates the tennis player from El Palmar, who yesterday had a light training session, with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and his older brother Álvaro who work for him.

Rest day, he had prepared well for the four-hour round that the Chilean ‘gunboat’ suffered Nicholas Jarry, Saturday. He is more than ready to face this dangerous matchup because of the opponent’s entity and the power and speed to both print on the ball.

And in addition to canceling the match in between Novak Djokovic and Hubert Hurkacz With 7-6, 7-6, which should end today, the central program is overloaded. If the Serbs and the Poles are victims of the municipal regulation that prevents any show from taking place after 11 pm, they can run that risk now Alcaraz and Berrettini.