Swiss Open: Matteo Berrettini thrashes Dominic Thiem to reach final
Italian maestro Matteo Berrettini beat Austria's Dominic Thiem to reach the final of the ongoing Swiss Open on Saturday. Berrettini defeated the Austrian in straight sets, winning his 12th consecutive match of the season. The former extends his unbeaten streak, having lifted trophies on grass in Stuttgart and London. Berrettini made a winning return to the ATP tour after missing 2022 Wimbledon.
Thiem had reached the semi-final after claiming a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas. Berrettini now has a 4-2 lead over Thiem in the ATP head-to-head series. The Italian has won the last three matches against Thiem (2022 Swiss Open, 2021 ATP Cup, and 2019 ATP Finals). Thiem last defeated Berrettini in 2019 (Vienna).
Berrettini won a total of 61 points in the semi-final. He served as many as four aces throughout the match, while Thiem smashed three. The former had a win percentage of 81 on his first serve. Meanwhile, he recorded three double-faults.
BOSSED IT.
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 23, 2022
A devastating performance from @MattBerrettini to defeat Thiem 6-1 6-4, booking his spot in the #SwissOpenGstaad final! pic.twitter.com/L8ZCCknkJj
After beating Richard Gasquet, Pedro Martinez, and Thiem at the Swiss Open, Berrettini has extended his unbeaten streak to 12. Earlier, he had extended his record on grass to 32-6. Berrettini has won 20 of his past 21 matches on the surface. The Italian is now vying for the eighth ATP title of his career. He has a win-loss record of 21-6 in 2022.
It is to note that Berrettini reached his first-ever ATP semi-final on clay at the Swiss Open in 2018. He won that tournament without dropping a set, having defeated Radu Albot, Andrey Rublev, Feliciano Lopez, Jurgen Zopp, and Roberto Bautista Agut. Berrettini is making just his second appearance at Gstaad this time. He is set to play his third final of 2022.
Earlier this year, Berrettini defeated Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 6-2 to win the 2022 Queen's Club Championships. It was his successive trophy as he had earlier beaten Andy Murray to win the Stuttgart Open. Berrettini then pulled out of 2022 Wimbledon after testing positive for COVID-19. Berrettini, who lost to former world number one Novak Djokovic in 2021, was supposed to face Cristian Garín.
