Italy's Matteo Berrettini will join the Italian men's soccer team in competing for a major title on Sunday in London. Three days after the Azzurri sealed their place in the Euro 2021 final at Wembley Stadium, the Rome native booked his spot in the Wimbledon final on Centre Court.
A 2019 US Open semifinalist, Berrettini has reached new Grand Slam ground at the All England Club. The No. 7 seed knocked off No. 14 Hubert Hurkacz, 6-3, 6-0, 6-7, 6-4 in Friday's semifinals, completing his passage to the title round with the loss of just three sets in six matches. He also eliminated No. 16 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in four sets in the quarterfinals.
In Sunday's final, the Italian will face the tall task of denying world No. 1 Novak Djokovic his 20th Grand Slam singles title—a mark that would equal the men's record shared by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Here's more on the first Italian man to reach the Wimbledon final.
The Matteo Berrettini File
Age: 24
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Current Rank: No. 9
Career-High Rank: No. 8 (Nov 2019)
Best US Open Finish: Semifinals (2019)
The Baseline
- Berrettini enters the Wimbledon final on an 11-match winning streak, after he completed his Wimbledon preparations by winning his fourth ATP title, at Queen's Club in London. As the top seed at the event, he knocked out three Britons: Andy Murray (Round of 16), Dan Evans (quarterfinals) and Cameron Norrie (final).
- Two of the Italian's five ATP titles have come on grass—he also won Stuttgart during his breakout 2019 campaign. That year, he posted an 11-2 record in three grass-court events, including a run to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. With no grass events held in 2020, Berrettini has picked up right where he left off on the unique surface which accentuates his booming serve and forehand. But far from a one-surface wonder, the 25-year-old also has three titles (and two finals) on clay, along with his US Open semifinal showing.
- Further underlining his clay-court prowess, the Rome native is 13-4 on clay for the 2021 season. In addition to winning a title in Belgrade, he reached his first Masters final in Madrid and advanced to his second career Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros.
- On two occasions, Berrettini raced to an ATP title without dropping serve or a single set. He accomplished the feat in Gstaad in 2018 and in Stuttgart in 2019. According to the ATP, only 15 men have won a tournament without dropping serve since 1999. Only five, including Berrettini, have done it twice—with Federer the only man to go beyond that number, with four.
- Berrettini is at the head of an Italian Renaissance of sorts in the men's game. The world No. 9 heads a list of 10 Italians in the ATP's Top 100, including world No. 23 Jannik Sinner and No. 26 Lorenzo Sonego, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon before falling to Roger Federer.
They Said It!
"It's something crazy to believe for us [Italians]. Obviously, let's say tennis, because it's never happened. So it's something that nobody expected—me in the first place. Then for football [Italy's men's soccer team], because we came from—I mean, we didn't qualify for the World Cup. So after that the job that they did, how hard they worked, the effort that they put, I think they really deserve this final. Obviously I'm going to think first about mine... Then probably, if I have the chance, I'm going to watch them." — Berrettini on a special Sunday for Italian sport, where he will contest the Wimbledon final before the Italian men's soccer team plays England in the Euro final.
