GSTAAD: Matteo Berrettini put the brakes on Dominic Thiem’s impressive return to the courts on Saturday crushing him 6-1, 6-4 in the semi-finals here.
The Italian world number 15, playing his first tournament since having to withdraw from Wimbledon with Covid, made short work of the 2020 US Open champion, putting him away in just 77 minutes.
It has still been a good week for the Austrian who has slipped to 274 in the ATP rankings after a year of setbacks, including a wrist injury, depression and Covid. This was his first semi-final in 14 months.
Berrettini goes forward to his eleventh career final and is bidding for a third straight title after wins on the grass at Queen’s and in Stuttgart.
In Sunday’s final, he will meet either the French Open finalist and defending champion on the Gstaad clay, Casper Ruud, or the world number 40 Albert Ramos-Vinolas who meet in the second semi later on Saturday.
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LONDON: Matteo Berrettini put on a show in the final of the Queen’s as he outclassed Filip Krajinovic to claim his second consecutive title.
In the final of the event, the Italian Berrettini displayed sheer dominance with his serving performance and thumped Serbian Krajinovic 7-5, 6-4.
Berrettini, who is going through a purple patch in the grass-court matches; winning 20 out of the last 21 contests, has benefitted from his sublime form as he claimed his second title in two weeks. His sole defeat, however, came against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final last year.
The world number 10 has now claimed two back-to-back titles as he stunned Andy Murray in the Stuttgart Open final last week.
Following his incredible run, the second Italian seed will be among the favourites for the Wimbledon, which begins on June 27.
It is pertinent to mention here that Berrettini returned to the action in Stuttgart Open last week after having surgery on his right hand and also admitted that he had not been sure what form he would find.
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