Tennis, Berrettini-Vukic 7-5 7-6 in Phoenix

On paper, Aleksandar Vukic, number 186 in the world and with about thirty games played in his career at ATP level (at almost 27 years), was certainly not the opponent who could put Matteo Berrettini in serious difficulty at Challenger 175 in Phoenix, yet bring at home this match for the blue was certainly not easy.

THE MATCH

—

The Roman continues on his way, reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament, after beating the Australian in straight sets (7-5 ​​7-6 in one hour and 39 minutes), but once again he has shown when it is necessary, for him, right now, to be in a Challenger, one step below what he was used to. Because it’s true, there has almost never been the real, palpable feeling that Vukic could beat him or worry him, but to break someone who only has a Challenger career win in Bangalore in 2022 in his resume, Matteo had to wait for the first set in the first set eleventh game, and in the second he was right by the native of Sydney (but originally from Montenegro) only at the tie break, where he had also gone down.

WE ARE NOT

—

Throughout the match, Berrettini (still) showed too many physical limits: the shots are there, intact, the “hammer” is still present, he simply hits the ball with that pinch of delay and “heaviness” compared to the past. Nothing that can’t be fixed or overcome: it takes patience and work. The same goes for trust: the lower brilliance of the game is also probably due to this too. For Berrettini in the quarterfinals there will now be a challenge with one between Shevchenko and Huesler.