Matteo Berrettini recorded his 100th tour-level match win on Saturday to reach the fourth round at The Championships, Wimbledon, for a second time (also 2019).
The seventh-seeded Italian extended his winning streak on grass courts this year to eight matches with an impressive service performance in a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia in one hour and 41 minutes. The match, held on No. 2 Court, was suspended due to rain for one hour and 31 minutes with Bedene serving at 3-3, Deuce, in the first set.
Berrettini, who is in strong contention for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 13-21 November in Turin, arrived at the All England Club on the back of capturing his fifth ATP Tour title at the cinch Championships (d. Norrie). He also clinched the Serbia Open crown in Belgrade (d. Karatsev) in April and finished runner-up at the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Zverev) in May.
He will now challenge Belarus’ Ilya Ivashka, who beat Jordan Thompson of Australia 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in just over two hours. Berrettini will be hoping to better his best Wimbledon performance, a fourth-round exit in 2019 to Roger Federer.
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After an initial six-game burst, which was suspended due to rain at 11:29am local time, the pair’s fourth ATP Head2Head meeting got back underway at 1:10pm. The first set then turned in Berrettini’s favour when the Italian caught Bedene off guard with a low return to break serve. Berrettini sealed the first set having won 20 of 23 service points.
Berrettini faced two break points in the second game of the second set, then applied the pressure on Bedene for a breakthrough. The World No. 9 completed the 36-minute passage of play with consecutive aces and won the first two games of the third set. Berrettini, who had beaten Bedene 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(3) in the 2019 Wimbledon first round, completed the match with his 20th ace.
Elsewhere, Berrettini’s compatriot, Lorenzo Sonego, the 23rd seed and last week’s Viking International Eastbourne finalist, beat James Duckworth 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 47 minutes on Court 17. There match was also interrupted by the weather with Sonego leading 4-2 in the first set after 20 minutes of play.
With victories for both Berrettini and Sonego, it marks just the third time in Wimbledon history that two Italian men have advanced to the Last 16 — 1949 (Giovanni Cucelli and Rolando del Bello) and 1955 (Nicola Pietrangeli and Giuseppe Merlo).
Source Tennis – ATP World Tour
