If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Italy's Matteo Berrettini was admittedly schooled by Roger Federer in his first Round of 16 appearance at a major at Wimbledon eight weeks ago, but credit the Italian for a quick return to the school of hard knocks: he's back in the Round of 16–this time at the US Open–and hopes that his lesson learned at Wimbledon will bear fruit in New York.
Berrettini, a rugged baseliner who made his first Top-100 finish last season, has maintained a rapid ascent up the ATP rankings in 2019 and he could be headed for the Top 20 by the end of the week.
He will face Russia's Andrey Rublev for a spot in his first major quarterfinal on Day 8 in New York, and if he is successful he will become the first Italian man to reach the quarterfinals in New York since 1977. Naturally he stands a better chance against Rublev than he did against Federer at Wimbledon—Berrettini already owns a win against the Russian from their two previous meetings.
What is perhaps most impressive about Berrettini's run to the fourth round in New York is that he had never won a match at the US Open prior to 2018. In fact, he has hardly won hard-court matches at all on the ATP Tour—five this season and 11 for his entire career. But this week on the gritty blue courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center the Rome native has exhibited a winning mentality.
Berrettini has notched victories over former US Open semifinalist Richard Gasquet as well as Australians Jordan Thompson and Alexei Popyrin in four sets,to improve to 7-1 in his last eight Grand Slam matches. He credits his mental maturity and his abilty to deal with defeat as one of the key contributing factors to his rise over the past 52 weeks.
Then there is that jawdropping game.
Over the course of his three rounds at the US Open, the strapping Italian has produced forehand winners at an alarming rate—a total of 70 in 12 sets—and proven that he can indeed be effective on any surface.
"Berrettini plays well on all surfaces," former ATP Pro and current commentator Robbie Koenig tells USOpen.org. "And his serve is very good. His forehand is big too, and it's the compact nature of the stroke that makes it so effective on different surfaces."
Grass has already proven to be a snap for Berrettini. He went 12-2 on the surface in 2019, losing only to David Goffin and Federer, while notching three Top-10 wins in the process. All this was accomplished despite the fact that he entered 2019 with four tour-level matches to his name on grass (and one victory).
Koenig adds that Berrettini's performance at the smaller tournaments is playing a huge role in his development and confidence. Berrettini owns 32 wins on the season, compared to just 19 in a full 2018.
"I think the fact he's built his ranking by winning so many ATP 250-level matches is crucial, it's given him a solid foundation," Koenig adds, stating also that the Italian's movement makes his high-octane game easy to transfer to different surfaces.
Berrettini's ability to win on grass this summer was impressive without a doubt, but it was the aforementioned drubbing at the hands of Federer on the surface that may prove to be the catalyst for Berrettini's development.
The Italian showed his sense of humor after his Round of 16 loss on Centre Court in July, when he told Federer, "Thanks for the lesson. How much do I owe you?" as they shook hands at the net.
It initially was perceived as a humorous moment that meant little on the grand scale, but Berrettini will surely benefit from the experience of facing Federer on his best surface—and the sting he felt from taking the lopsided loss.
"It's important that he's not too disappointed, because he's had a great run," Federer said at the time. "It's important for him to look ahead. There's so many great moments coming in his career."
And here comes the next moment. When he meets Rublev on Monday in Louis Armstrong Stadium, Berrettini will be able to take comfort in the fact that he’s been there and done that—at least once.
"I think it's gonna be really helpful for my career," he told reporters not long after that Wimbledon loss to Federer. "I expected to be tight, to be, like, maybe not ready, but not like this."
When he’s not tight, Berrettini in full flight can be an absolute menace.
If his forehand is huge, then his serve is gargantuan. The Italian routinely cracks his first-serve in the 130s and he touched 138 on the radar gun during his four-set win over Popyrin on Day 6. Twice in the last two seasons, Berrettini has won an ATP title without dropping serve over the whole tournament—he is just one of six ATP players (joining Federer, Ivo Karlovic, Milos Raonic, Andy Roddick and Ivan Ljubicic) to have achieved the feat twice since the ATP began keeping such records, in 1999.
Clearly, Berrettini has what it takes to impose himself on some of the best players in men's tennis. As he gains experience, he'll become even more potent. Whether that's enough to get him the win on Monday remains to be seen, but the fact that the Italian is back in the Round of 16 at a major so soon is a great sign.
