TNT Sports
Wimbledon 2023: Carlos Alcaraz through to quarter-finals with impressive win over Matteo Berrettini
By
Published 10/07/2023 at 22:09 GMT+1
Men's world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz came from a set down to defeat Italian Matteo Berrettini in four sets and reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time. The 20-year-old was slower than his opponent to find his fluency but Berrettini's inconsistency and Alcaraz's power and precision were enough to change the tide of the match to send the Spaniard marching on.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates
Image credit: Getty Images
Carlos Alcaraz beat Matteo Berrettini 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 to reach a maiden Wimbledon quarter-final.
The 20-year-old is one of the favourites at SW19, but his four-set battle with Nicolas Jarry at the weekend showed the remaining players in the men's draw that he is far from invincible on grass at this stage of his career. Meanwhile, the resurgent Berrettini had displayed his talent with a straight-sets victory over Alexander Zverev and came in dreaming of a big upset.
The match went with serve in the opening stages, with the crowd and press box both packed tight for what was one of the most hotly-anticipated matches of the tournament so far.
Both players were able to mix power with deft touches, but for more than half the first set, they were well-matched and unable to force a break.
However the 27-year-old Italian seized on some indecisiveness from the world No. 1 as he fought through to break for 5-3, before serving out the set via deuce.
Alcaraz had a break point in the first game of the second set but Berrettini held serve and the Spaniard started to betray some frustration.
But the breakthrough soon came. Two unforced errors from Berrettini gifted Alcaraz 0-40 at 2-1 and the Spaniard pushed through to finally break before holding to move 4-1 clear.
Alcaraz’s power and accuracy in his service games soon took him to the set and it was all square.
He broke to go 2-1 up in the third set as his superior movement helped him pick off Berrettini, and at 5-3, he had the Italian serving to stay in the set.
An unusual, crouching return gave Alcaraz a couple more break points and despite being pegged back to deuce, he soon dispatched a third to move one set from victory.
The Italian petitioned to have the roof closed and after he held his service game to love for 2-2 in the fourth, the umpire acquiesced.
While he might have hoped for a change in fortunes, Alcaraz quickly returned to his dominant ways and a thudding right-hander set him up to serve for the match.
Alcaraz did not blink and booked a last-eight clash with Danish sixth seed Holger Rune.
- - -
You can watch daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm on Eurosport 2 and discovery+, as well as the two singles finals live on July 15 and 16.
Advertisement
Advertisement