PARIS – He thought he would never be an elite tennis player again; he thought his story was over. And that is why Matteo Berrettini was overcome with joy on Saturday after securing an epic victory over Argentina’s Francisco Comesaña and advancing to the last 16 at Roland Garros.
‘I doubted myself a little too much in recent years, even though I had incredible support from my friends and family,’ said a smiling Berrettini after the 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 and 7-6 (15-13) victory in five hours and 13 minutes.
Comesaña had two match points in the final tie-break and could have won the match played on the Simonne-Mathieu court, the third most important in the tournament and its most beautiful setting, located in the middle of a greenhouse.
Berrettini, aged 30 and ranked 105th in the world, reached a career-high world number six in January 2022, months after reaching the Wimbledon final.
Since then, a series of injuries and physical problems have kept him out of the limelight on the tour: the Italian has played in only ten of the 18 Grand Slams since losing that final to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic at the All England Club.
Now, with former Swedish tennis player Thomas Enqvist as his co-coach, the Italian believes once again that life is beautiful in tennis.
Berrettini’s opponent on Monday will be the Argentine Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, who caused the biggest upset of the tournament by knocking out the Italian Jannik Sinner, the world number one, and who defeated the Spaniard Martín Landaluce on Saturday in a match that will go down in the tournament’s history.
Cerúndolo, who is in the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career, won 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7) and 7-6 (10-8) in five hours and 57 minutes, the third-longest match in the history of Roland Garros: the Argentine won 214 points and the Spaniard 213. It was also the longest match since the super tie-break was introduced in the final set in 2022.
The elder of the Cerúndolo brothers, Francisco, lost to the American Zachary Svajda 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 and 6-3 in a match in which he once again lost his nerve.
At one point during the match, Cerúndolo asked his coach, former tennis player Pablo Cuevas, to stop talking to him and leave the stadium. The Uruguayan left, and it remains to be seen whether he will continue coaching the Argentine, who thus adds another chapter to the stormy relationship between players and coaches that we are seeing at this year’s Roland Garros. The previous incident involved the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina and the Argentine coach Mariano Puerta.
On a hot Saturday filled with thrilling matches, the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo dashed French hopes by defeating Moise Kouamé, the 17-year-old prodigy, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and 7-6 (11-9).
“I’m very, very happy,” said the Chilean. “I knew Kouamé was going to be tough; he’s playing incredibly well. And the atmosphere was mad – I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it in my life. I’m proud to have managed to get past him.”
Tabilo, the fourth Chilean to reach the last 16 in Paris this century – joining Fernando González, Cristian Garin and Nicolás Jarry – played on the Suzanne Lenglen court, a venue usually known for its explosive crowds who support local players beyond the bounds of the rules. It is the first time in his career that Tabilo has reached the last 16 at a Grand Slam.
Berrettini, on the other hand, knows all about that. This Saturday, upon entering the press room, he was greeted with applause from the Italian journalists, and as he sat down, defeated, he heard a joke: “Well, Matteo, it’s not as if you’d been playing for five hours!”
‘I confess I thought I wouldn’t be able to come back, and that’s why I got emotional today – I proved to myself that I can. There was a long period when my mind was there but my body wasn’t, or vice versa. I started feeling good last summer and really good in the Davis Cup at the end of the year,’ explained the Italian.
His powerful and effective serve was key against Comesaña, whom he showered with praise, but the serve alone isn’t enough, Berrettini warned.
“The serve is the foundation of my game, but at the same time we’ve seen in the past great servers who, if they’re not 100 per cent mentally, it doesn’t matter what kind of weapons they have… It’s one thing to have a weapon, and another to know how to use it.”
Emotions are running high for the Italian, who dreams of competing for major honours in tennis once again: ‘Ever since I started playing tennis, my heart rate and breathing have sped up at certain moments. But if you’re running around for five hours in the sun, it’s only natural that that happens, isn’t it?’
