Australian Open: Matteo Berrettini beats Gael Monfils to reach semi-final
Italy's Matteo Berrettini entered the semi-final of the 2022 Australian Open after beating veteran Gael Monfils in five sets. The 25-year-old beat Monfils 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2 in the quarter-final that spanned nearly four hours. Berrettini has become the first Italian man (singles) to reach the final four at the Australian Open. He will face Spanish ace Rafael Nadal in the penultimate clash.
The men's singles quarter-final ran for three hours and 49 minutes. Berrettini won a total of 156 points and 51 winners in the match. Both players fired more than 10 aces (Berrettini: 12, Monfils: 15). Monfils won 34% of receiving points (58/170) and 74% of net points (14/19). Meanwhile, Berrettini smashed the fastest serve of the match (220 KPH).
Berrettini has become the first Italian man to reach the semi-finals at the Australian Open. The Italian has now qualified for the semi-finals at three of four majors. Berrettini finished as the runner-up of Wimbledon last year after losing to Novak Djokovic. He could be joined by fellow Jannik Sinner, who will face Stefanos Tsitsipas on Wednesday.
Berrettini has a win-loss record of 6-2 in the ongoing season. Earlier this year, he defeated Ugo Humbert but lost to Alex de Minaur and Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Cup. In the 2022 Australian Open, Berrettini has defeated Brandon Nakashima, Stefan Kozlov, Carlos Alcaraz, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Monfils. Berrettini has claimed only one straight-set win in Melbourne this year.
Monfils was bidding to reach his third major semi-final. He had qualified for this stage at Roland Garros in 2008 and the US Open in 2016. The world number 20 had not dropped a set en route to the quarter-finals in Melbourne this year. Earlier this month, Monfils clinched his 11th tour-level title at the Adelaide International. He is 8-2 in the ongoing season.
🇮🇹FORZA🇮🇹@MattBerrettini punches a ticket to his first #AusOpen semifinal, outlasting Monfils 6-4 6-4 3-6 3-6 6-2
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2022
🎥 @wwos • @espn • @Eurosport • @wowowtennis#AO2022• #AOTennis pic.twitter.com/NSwFj2oy1J
Berrettini will lock horns with Nadal in the semi-finals. The latter claimed a five-set win over Canada's Denis Shapovalov earlier in the day. Nadal could now become only the second man (Open Era) after Novak Djokovic to win each Grand Slam twice. He could also break a tie with Federer and Djokovic (20) in terms of Grand Slam titles.
