Wimbledon 2023 – Matteo Berrettini eliminates Alexander Zverev in the 3rd round, he will play Carlos Alcaraz in the 8th finals

It was a rumor, it’s now official: Matteo Berrettini is back to his best level in this Wimbledon 2023. In his third round on the London lawn, the Italian won brilliantly in three sets and 2h29 game (6-3, 7-6, 7-6). At the end of an incredible showdown where power was king, the finalist for the 2021 edition confirmed his return to great shape. Never broken during the meeting, the Roman is now a scarecrow in the upper part of the table gentlemen. In the next round, Berrettini made an appointment with Carlos Alcaraz for a very enticing duel on paper.

Matteo Berrettini is in full resurrection on the courts of Wimbledon. With only ten matches played since the start of the calendar year, the former sixth player in the world was groping his way onto the English turf. In five days, the Transalpin played five times. And since the start of the fortnight, Berrettini has never lost his service game and saved only six break points. Here are some figures which indicate that Berrettini is not in London to joke. When watching his performance on Saturday night against Alexander Zverev, we understand better why.

The rain did not disturb Berrettini

Monumental on his first ball throughout the game, the Italian nevertheless won his first face-off like a diesel. Once launched into the match, his serve became a formidable weapon. Opposite, Zverev never found the solution. In the eighth game of the first set, the number nineteen seed conceded two break points. Only one was enough for Berrettini to lead 5-3 and then conclude in a sovereign manner in 33 minutes (6-3).

Faced with such a wall, Zverev began to tighten the game on his serve. At 4-4, 30-A on his serve, the German saw the rain appear to stop the game for 45 minutes. Back on court number one, the two tennis players hesitated to resume given the slippery state of the lawn. After a discussion with the tournament organizers, the show was able to resume. Result of the races: no break point to defend for the two servers, and a knife tie-break won 7-5 by Berrettini thanks to the only point won on opposing service (7-6).

Led two sets to nothing, Zverev did not change his strategy, namely to keep control of his service games and wait for a new decisive game to win the third set. At 4-4, the Olympic champion in Tokyo saved three break points to keep the suspense going. At 6-6, the two tennis players separated with a new decisive game. And in this little game, Berrettini came out better to conclude the match with an absolutely unstoppable ace (7-6). If Carlos Alcaraz was in front of his TV this Saturday evening, the world number one knows he can expect to leave additional feathers in his round of 16.