“It’s incredible, at his age I think he didn’t even have ATP points. It has great potential. I congratulate you”, Those were the first words of Matteo Berrettini after beating Carlos Alcaraz in the third round of the Australian Open (6-2, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 2-6 and 7-6 ( 5) in 4h10), in a match that he clearly dominated and that was about to slip away if it weren’t for the big tiebreaker he played in the fifth set. The 18-year-old Murcian lost by two sets to zero, 4-3 and 0-30 in the third, and by dint of faith, heart and claw he reached that last tie-break that had an ugly ending for him, a double fault that did not detract from what he did in a delivered Rod Laver Arena that chanted his name repeatedly. Charly touched on a feat that would have brought him new marks of precocity, but left the feeling that he will be very big on one of the most important tennis courts on the planet.
The detail of Alcaraz with Berretini
Berrettini, who will face another Spaniard and also a disciple of the Equelite Academy, Pablo Carreño, in the round of 16 (he arrives for the second year in a row), took revenge for the defeat that Alcaraz had inflicted on him a few months ago in Vienna and he did it in the appointed place and on the appointed day. We are talking about a Wimbledon finalist, US Open semifinalist and Roland Garros quarterfinalist who, at 25, is number seven in the world and who has a fearsome serve and one of the best forehands on the circuit, of those that produce more acceleration. In the face of all this, Carlos stood up and instead of giving up when his opponent had a star advantage, he went for him without complexes, began to return better and better and attack him bravely, to the limit and in search of the lines. . He did not complete the comeback due to small details, due to some errors that weighed him down at specific moments.
The truth is that despite the bulky score of the first set, that 6-2, Alcaraz had had five break opportunities in the Roman’s first two services. They escaped him and from there he conceded a 7-0 run that was difficult to reverse. Still, he was able to force the tiebreaker in the second set. He lost it and in the next two motos he raised his game, minimized mistakes and lifted the spectators out of their seats with a lot of winners (he finished with 51, 12 of them from aces, above the 10 of his rival).
History for Italy
Berrettini, who had a dangerous stumble early in the last set (spraining his left ankle), kept his cool, pulled himself together and fought bravely after wasting a match-point at 6-5 to becoming the third Italian to reach the round of 16 eight times in majors, after Adriano Panatta and Fabio Fognini. Alcaraz did amazing things that are advertised as a giant tennis player for the next few years.
Australian Open Men’s Draw.
