Can anything or anyone stop Matteo Berrettini on grass?
Missing three months with a right-hand injury clearly had no impact, so maybe Novak Djokovic is the Italian’s only kryptonite. Berrettini was undefeated on grass last year before losing to Djokovic in the Wimbledon final and he is perfect on the green stuff once again this summer heading into the All-England Club. Since returning from his injury, Berrettini has reeled off back-to-back titles in Stuttgart and Queen’s Club. The world No. 10 successfully defended his Cinch Championships title on Sunday by beating Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 7-6-4.
“There are so many emotions,” Berrettini commented. “The last thing I expected was to come back from surgery and win two titles in a row–(to) defend my title here at one of the most prestigious tournaments we have. I don’t want to cry. Most of the job is thanks to my team and my family. I just can’t believe it.”
Everyone will believe it if the 26-year-old goes on to win Wimbledon. He is an incredible 32-3 on grass dating back to 2019, without question making him the second or–depending on Rafael Nadal’s health–third favorite in SW19 behind Djokovic.
Hubert Hurkacz is right up there, as well. The 10th-ranked Pole made a run to the Wimbledon semis last summer (defeated Roger Federer before losing to Berrettini) and he is heading back to London with the Terra Wortmann Open trophy in tow. Hurkacz made quick 6-1, 6-4 work of world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s final.
“I’m super excited,” Hurkacz assured. “I’ve been waiting a little bit for my first [title] this year. I’m happy to win my first ATP 500 title and of course, on the grass it is very special…. I’m very happy with the win in front of such a great crowd here.
“Daniil is an unbelievable player. He’s the best player in the world so it’s very tricky to play him. All the right shots went my way at the beginning, so I definitely gained a lot of momentum from that.”
For Mevedev, it marks his second runner-up performance in as many weeks. In ‘s-Hertogenbosch he fell to Dutch wild card Tim van Rijthoven.
where do u rank Berrettini and Hurkacz among Wimbledon contenders?
I’d put Btini and Hurcats in top 8 for Wdon, along with Korda, FAA, Norrie, Sinner, and maybe Rune