Matteo Berrettini defended his Queen’s title with a 7-5, 6-4 triumph over Filip Krajinovic in an hour and 33 minutes. Thus, the Italian secured the sixth ATP title and the fourth on grass, the third in a row and second within two weeks after conquering Stuttgart last Sunday. Matteo has been 31-3 on grass since 2019, and he should be among the Wimbledon favorites. Krajinovic came to Queen’s without ATP wins on grass, and he played on a high level to defeat four rivals and find himself in the title clash. Still, he could not take at least a set away from Matteo, who got broken once from two chances offered to his rival. Berrettini fired almost 40 winners and delivered three breaks of serve that carried him over the top. The Italian became the 11th player since 1990 with four grass-court ATP titles and the first defending champion at Queen’s since Andy Murray. Matteo had the upper hand in the shortest and more advanced rallies to seal the deal in straight sets and keep 500 ATP points ahead of losing 1200 at Wimbledon.
Matteo Berrettini claimed his fifth ATP title on grass at Queen’s.
The Serb faced three break points in the encounter’s opening game and claimed five consecutive points to erase the danger and avoid an early setback. Matteo claimed the second game with a beautiful backhand volley winner and squandered another break chance in game three. The Italian kept pushing on the return and secured a break in game five with a volley winner at the net that sent him 3-2 in front. Berrettini saved a break point in game six with a service winner before Krajinovic seized the second with a well-constructed attack that brought him back to 3-3.
Matteo closed the eighth game with an ace, and Filip landed a backhand winner in the next one for 5-4. The Italian landed an ace in game ten to level the score and earned a break in the next one when his rival netted a backhand. Matteo fired a forehand winner in game 12 to secure the opener in 53 minutes and gain a boost ahead of set number two. Krajinovic held with a service winner at 1-1, and Berrettini locked the result at 2-2 with a hold at 15. In the crucial moment of the entire final, Matteo broke at love in the fifth game and built the key advantage. The Italian held at 30 with an ace in the next one to cement the lead and opened a 5-3 gap with another ace in game eight. Serving for the victory at 5-4, Berrettini landed a volley winner at 15-30 and emerged at the top with an ace to celebrate the title.