Matteo Berrettini beat tenth seed Alex De Minaur 6-4 7-6 (9-7) to reach the quarter finals for the first time in four years.
Berrettini won just four points than De Minaur and saved seven of the nine break points he faced. He converted three of his seven break points.
Berrettini earned an early break in the second game of the first set, when De Minaur missed a volley at the net. Berrettini consolidated the break by holding serve in the third game and drew De Minaur’s error to open up a 4-1 lead.
Berrettini held serve in the seventh game with a winner at the net and served for the first set at 5-3. De Minaur earned two break points after Berrettini netted a backhand. Berrettini saved them before closing out the first set 6-3 with an ace in 35 minutes.
De Minaur missed a game point at the start of the second set and faced three break points. Berrettini converted his third break point with a lob and a smash winner to go up a set and a break. De Minaur pulled the break back after a forehand error from Berrettini. Both players went on serve in the next five games without facing any break point. De Minaur took a 5-4 lead with a forehand winner. The Australian player earned three set points in the next game. Berrettini fended them off to hold serve at deuce for 5-5.
Berrettini broke serve in the 11th game and served for the match at 6-5. De Minaur saved two match points and earned two break points. Berrettini saved them and created his third match point. The Italian player missed a forehand and was broken two points later after a forced backhand error.
De Minaur hit a volley winner in the ninth point earning three match points at 6-3 in the tie-break. Berrettini saved them with winners and the third match point after De Minaur’s forehand error. Berrettini wasted his fourth match point before converting his fifth opportunity to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter final since Madrid 2021 after De Minaur’s backhand error.
Berrettini set up a quarter final match against 2024 US Open and Next Gen Finals runner-up Taylor Fritz.
“It was a roller coaster match. I am very happy with how I played this match. I went up a break, but De Minaur pulled the break back. I saved a break point at 5-4 0-40. Everything happened in this match. De Minaur went up 6-3 in the tie-break but I never gave up. I am very tired but I am happy. This victory means a lot to me. It shows that I’ve worked hard on and off the court, and that I’m happy with what I’m doing. If I’m not happy, I can’t achieve the results I want. I’m very proud of myself, my team, and my family. It’s good, but I want to go even further. The way I won this match means a lot to me. I won the second set, then lost it, then won it again”, said Berrettini.
