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Berrettini keeps his crown at Queen’s

The Italian retains his title on the London turf and establishes himself as one of the favorites at Wimbledon.

Matteo Berrettini (10th in the world) retained his crown at the ATP 500 tournament on grass at Queen’s on Sunday, beating Serbian Filip Karjinovic (48th) 7-5, 6-4, eight days before the start of Wimbledon whose Italian is the outgoing finalist.

Already a winner in Stuttgart last week for his back-to-school tournament after a three-month hiatus due to an operation on his right hand, the Italian enjoyed his comeback on a lawn that suits him particularly well. Berrettni even became only the 4th player in modern tennis history to reach the final of 4 grass tournaments in a row along with Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. “The last thing I expected was to win two titles in a row and keep my crown here coming back from surgery“Explained the winner, very moved.

«When I arrived in Stuttgart I didn’t feel so good, I couldn’t hit the ball the way I wanted. I said (to my team) “guys, I think it’s going to be complicated”. But it’s probably because I’m Italian. We always complain (laughs). Today I can’t complain too much“, he joked. “I couldn’t have asked for a better start (for the grass season) but this tournament is not just preparation for Wimbledon, it’s Queen’s, it’s one of the most prestigious tournaments. But from next week there will be another goal“, Continued the one who is now one of the big favorites at Wimbledon.

Dream comeback on grass

Against an opponent who hadn’t won a single game on grass in his entire career before this tournament, at 30, Berrettini showed himself to be dominant by being very solid on his commitment, despite a rather low rate of successful first serves. (58%). But with 14 aces and 64% of points won on his second serve, he conceded only 2 break points, including one materialized by the Serb. It was in the 6th game of the first set, just after Berrettini (26) robbed him of his serve, which put the two players tied at 3-3.

Without tensing up, the Italian took advantage of another small drop in speed from his opponent at 5-5 to score a second break in this round which he won in stride in nearly 55 minutes. The second set started like the first, with a break in the 5th game, but confirmed this time by Berrettini to lead 4-2 and not be scared until the end of the match.

Krajinovic, who was playing his fifth final on the circuit, is still looking for a first title. His place as a finalist will nevertheless allow him to jump in the ATP ranking on Monday, where he will drop from 48th to 31st place.

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