‘We always play great matches’ – Matteo Berrettini relishing Dominic Thiem clash
Matteo Berrettini is excited to face Dominic Thiem for the sixth time in their careers after pulling off a courageous comeback in Gstaad.
The 2019 champion was a set down and trailing 5-1 in the second set tiebreak before rallying to win 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 over fifth seed Pedro Martinez.
The victory means Berrettini has now won 11 matches in a row and is 7-0 in his two career appearances at the Swiss Open.
“Sometimes it’s just tennis, it’s a crazy sport,” Berrettini said of the win in his post-match interview. “I was thinking ‘wow 5-1, I think I’m done.’ And then I played two good points and then I thought ‘ok, now it’s 5-3, let’s try.’ I guess I was more ready in that moment.
“It’s important to win when you’re not feeling that well. I found some energy inside me.”
The world number 15 will now face another former champion in Thiem, the Austrian having won the trophy in 2015.
Berrettini leads their career head-to-head 3-2, including winning their two most recent encounters at the 2021 ATP Cup and the 2019 ATP Finals.
“Dominic has an unbelievable career,” Berrettini said praising the 2020 US Open champion. “He’s a Slam champion already.
“Right now, I saw some of his games today, and he’s coming back to his level. So I know it’s going to be a really tough match.
“We always play great matches. Best of luck to him, but I mean” he said before smiling and trailing off.
While Berrettini could use some ranking points after his Wimbledon 2021 haul dropped after this year’s tournament, he has already secured the 14th spot with his results in Gstaad and cannot climb higher in ranking this week.
On the other hand, every match counts for Thiem as he provisionally climbed back inside the top 200 in the live ATP rankings by reaching the semi-finals.
? Free >> Join our legendary newsletter
? Join >> Receive $700/£600 of tennis gear from the Tennishead CLUB
? Social >> Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube
? Read >> World’s best tennis magazine
? Watch >> How to enjoy ATP/WTA/Slam tennis on TV
? Shop >> Lowest price tennis gear from our trusted partner