WHAT HAPPENED: No. 6 seed and 2019 semifinalist Matteo Berrettini dropped 17 aces, served the fastest serve of the tournament at 142 mph, won 86 percent of his first serve points, and even hit a winner from outside the court around the net post to beat France’s Ugo Humbert in the second round of the 2020 US Open, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6.
“I’m really happy for my serve,” Berrettini said after the match. “I think I was putting pressure on him, so I think that’s why, in the end, I won.”
Berrettini, who possesses one of the most explosive forehands in the sport right now, was just too solid for the lefty Frenchman. He broke Humbert in the first game at love, and that turned out to be all he needed to edge ahead in the contest, taking the set 6-4 in 30 minutes. The Italian was so dominant in his service games that he won all 15 of his first serve points in the set. Humbert managed three points total in all of those games overall.
Humbert settled into the match and the pair stayed on serve through 3-3 in the second set. In the seventh game, however, Berrettini began to connect on his returns, and Humbert, unable to handle his opponent’s power, was again broken at love. Worse, Humbert could make no inroads on the world No. 8’s serve—Berrettini lost just six first-serve points this time. The 2019 semifinalist easily served it out to take a two-set lead.
Humbert finally received his first breakpoint opportunity in the fourth game of the third set. It was promptly erased with an ace. Serving at 3-3, Humbert again went down 0-40 after Berrettini accidentally hit the Frenchman at the net with an overhead. This time, however, Humbert saved all three points, then held.
The pair then stayed on serve throughout the set to head to a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Berrettini twice went up a minibreak, but gave it back both times with some jittery errors. Still, he earned a match point at 6-5 after serving an ace, which Humbert saved with a stylish backhand down the line. But Humbert sent a ball flying past the doubles alley on the next point to give the Italian another chance. That was all he needed to take the match and advance to the third round.
WHAT IT MEANS: Berrettini is looking confident; he’s so confident, in fact, that he channeled his inner Rafael Nadal and hit one winner from outside the court and around the net post at the tail end of the third set.
“I said okay, this is the only chance to win the point,” Berrettini said with a smile after the match. “It went well. Unfortunately, he made two aces in a row after that. I wasn’t really happy with that game!”
His next opponent should provide a tougher test. Norwegian Casper Ruud, the no. 30 seed, beat Berrettini at the French Open last year in straight sets, the only time they played. But the faster courts at Flushing Meadows should help make Berrettini more competitive.
MATCH POINT: Through two matches, Berrettini has yet to be broken on his serve. He faced four break points in his first match and just one in his second.
