Matteo Berrettini continued his fine form since returning to the court after his clay-court season absence by beating James Duckworth in straight sets to book a semifinal clash with his fellow Italian, Lorenzo Musetti.
Berrettini’s semifinal clash with Musetti would mark his third appearance in the tournament’s semifinals since 2019. Coincidentally, Matteo Berrettini has won the tournament in each of the previous two times he’s featured in a semifinal.
In 2019, he defeated Jan-Lennard Struff in the semifinal before beating Félix Auger-Aliassime in the final with a lengthy second-set tiebreak. In 2022, he defeated Oscar Otte with two tiebreaks before shaking off a dogged Andy Murray in the final to win the title a second time.
Matteo Berrettini’s Dominates With Winners
From the beginning of the Stuttgart Open quarterfinal clash between Matteo Berrettini and James Duckworth, Berrettini showed ferocity in his winners. In the fifth game of the first set, Berrettini capped a lengthy rally between the pair with a crosscourt backhand winner, with an injection of pace that the Australian couldn’t catch.
In the same game, Berrettini dragged Duckworth around the court with backhand winners to both corners of the court before suddenly switching up the play with a drop shot at the net. Duckworth barely caught the drop shot at the net, leaving the entire court open for Matteo Berrettini to dispatch a winner. Berrettini eventually broke the Australian’s serve when the Australian sent a return backhand into the net.
Duckworth Didn’t Get A Single Breakpoint
Throughout the set, Matteo Berrettini won five points at the net, one more than Duckworth did. The Italian also smashed 14 winners, five more than the Australian managed. Berrettini restricted the Australian, ensuring he didn’t manage a single breakpoint opportunity on his serve. The Italian won the first set 6-4 when the Australian hit a return of the Italian’s serve into the net.
Matteo Berrettini’s dominance with passing winners continued in the second set. In the third game, with James Duckworth up 30-15 on his serve, Berrettini pulled the Australian to the net with a sliced shot and then fired a backhand winner from Duckworth’s return volley, down the line and beyond the reach of the Australian’s stretch.
Berrettini Had A Nearly Perfect First Serve
Berrettini’s all-around game also showed in a moment in the eighth game where he brought up game point with a sleek backhand slice at the net in response to Duckworth’s attempt at a crosscourt backhand winner. In the end, Berrettini managed to break the Australian’s serve in the 11th game of the set and serve out the match with his 13th ace of the match.
Matteo Berrettini was close to perfect in his first serves, winning a total of 33 out of the 37 contested shots on his first serve. He also won 12 of the 19 second serve points. His serve dominance ensured he didn’t face a single breakpoint throughout the match. His winner was the joker, securing him 26 points all through the match. This was 10 more than his opponent managed.
Note:
Matteo Berrettini is ranked at No. 95 in the ATP rankings, 65 places below Lorenzo Musetti, his next opponent in the semifinal. Musetti would be his highest-ranked opponent since the tournament started, with Denis Shapovalov ranked at No. 117 and Roman Safiullin ranked at No. 43.
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