WHAT HAPPENED: A day after seismic shock waves seemingly rumbled through the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds, No. 6 Matteo Berrettini restored some order to the 2021 US Open men’s field on Saturday.
Avoiding the upset fate of No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 5 Andrey Rublev, the 2021 Wimbledon finalist turned back the inspired challenge of Ilya Ivashka, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, in rousing fashion to reach the fourth round for the third consecutive year.
The 25-year-old Berrettini has flourished here at Flushing Meadows, making his career breakthrough by reaching the semifinals two years ago.
A fan favorite, the bearded Italian with the powerful game and matinée good looks, didn’t disappoint his vocal supporters who packed the Grandstand on another glorious sun-filled day. His primo fan, New York restaurant owner Giovanni Bartocci, led the cheers.
This was a three-hour-and-46 minute gut-check battle for Berrettini, who needed to find all of his shot-making skill (69 winners), inspiration, and composure to stop the Belarusian’s eight-match winning streak that had started last month when captured his first ATP Tour crown at Winston-Salem.
He also needed a monster serving effort in the final set. The 6-foot-5 Italian lost just four points on his serve, winning 17 of 18 first serve points. He appropriately finished the match with a booming service winner, followed by an emphatic fist pump and gladiator yell.
Berrettini was a brute on his serve the entire match, overwhelming Ivashka for stretches. He hammered home 27 aces, and won 80 of 95 points on his first serve. Ivanshka managed to break serve just twice, both times in the fourth set.
WHAT IT MEANS: Through Wimbledon, Berrettini had been playing great tennis. In addition to reaching the Wimbledon final, he had won ATP Tour titles at Belgrade and Queen's Club along with a runner-up result at Madrid. On the clay at the French Open, he had made the quarterfinals and started the season at the Australian Open by making the fourth round.
But a thigh injury suffered at Wimbledon cooled off Berrettini. He was forced to miss the Olympics and played only one tournament, losing in the second round at Cincinnati.
Any worries about lingering effects from lack of match play or the injury were put to rest with this grueling marathon.
MATCH POINT: No Italian man has won a Grand Slam singles title since the dashing Adriano Panatta flowed around the Roland Garros clay courts to victory in 1976. Can Berrettini end that drought here?
