Italian tennis star Matteo Berrettini said the playing conditions weren’t easy against Tommy Paul but he was glad that he was able to escape with a straight-set victory.
On Friday, Berrettini saw off Paul 6-4 6-2 to progress into the semifinal at the Queen’s Club.
Berrettini, 26, is now two wins away from defending his title at the Queen’s Club.
āI am really happy,ā Berrettini said in his on-court interview, per the ATP website. āToday was very tough to play. It was very windy and hot, so I made some mistakes but I was there. I fought through and I feel my game was getting higher and higher the more I was playing, so I am really happy with it.ā
Berrettini recovered from a slow start to win in two sets
Berrettini got off to a slow start to the match as he found himself down by an early break.
Berrettini was 1-4 down after the opening five games of the match, but then earned back-to-back breaks and won five games in a row to overturn the deficit and win the first set.
After dropping five consecutive games, Paul saved two break points in the opening game of the second set.
Berrettini maybe didn’t get a break in the opening game of the second set, but he broke Paul in the third game to open a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth game, Berrettini saved a break point to go 3-1 up.
There was no coming back for Paul as Berrettini earned his fourth break of the match in the seventh game, before serving out for the match in the eighth game.
Berrettini will be playing against Botic van de Zandschulp for a place in the Queen’s final.
On Friday, van de Zandschulp defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets to reach his first Queen’s semifinal.
Berrettini and van de Zandschulp will be going head-to-head for the second time in their respective careers when they meet at the Queen’s Club.
Berrettini defeated van de Zandschulp when they clashed at Wimbledon last year.