Italian Matteo Berrettini powered into the second week of the US Open for the third consecutive year Saturday after rallying from a set down to snap the eight-match winning streak of Belarusian Ilya Ivashka.
Berrettini’s edge in firepower proved decisive as he thundered 27 aces and saved 10 of 12 break points en route to a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory.
"I think I had to step up my game in order to win the match, and I did it in the fifth set," Berrettini said. "I'm really happy, because mentally and physically it wasn't easy."
Dominant on serve, Berrettini would have fancied his chances to close out the match in four sets. But after going 0/9 on his first break point opportunities, Ivashka claimed consecutive breaks in the fifth and seventh games of the fourth set to force a decider, as Berrettini paid the price for 15 unforced errors in the set.
The 6’ 5” 25-year-old broke Ivashka at the start of the fifth set to race to a 3-0 lead and never took his foot off the gas, dropping just four points on serve in the decider. He improved his fifth-set record to 4-1.
"I'm really happy for today's win. I think it was really tough match, tough opponent," Berrettini said. "He's feeling obviously really well. He won in Winston-Salem. He was playing also before the American swing really well. I knew it would be really tough."
The World No. 8 also reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows in 2020 and the semi-finals in 2019, which had been his best Grand Slam result until he advanced to this year’s Wimbledon final.
Strengthening his claim to a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals on home soil in Turin in November, Berrettini next faces German qualifier Oscar Otte and is seeded to meet World No. 1 and his Wimbledon conqueror Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
World No. 144 Otte fired 15 aces in a 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 win over Italian veteran Andreas Seppi. The 28-year, who had just five tour-level wins to his name before the US Open, survived third-set tie-breaks in his first two qualifying matches and also rallied from a set down in the final round of qualifying against Bernabe Zapata Miralles just to make the main draw.
Berrettini’s edge in firepower proved decisive as he thundered 27 aces and saved 10 of 12 break points en route to a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory.
"I think I had to step up my game in order to win the match, and I did it in the fifth set," Berrettini said. "I'm really happy, because mentally and physically it wasn't easy."
Dominant on serve, Berrettini would have fancied his chances to close out the match in four sets. But after going 0/9 on his first break point opportunities, Ivashka claimed consecutive breaks in the fifth and seventh games of the fourth set to force a decider, as Berrettini paid the price for 15 unforced errors in the set.
The 6’ 5” 25-year-old broke Ivashka at the start of the fifth set to race to a 3-0 lead and never took his foot off the gas, dropping just four points on serve in the decider. He improved his fifth-set record to 4-1.
"I'm really happy for today's win. I think it was really tough match, tough opponent," Berrettini said. "He's feeling obviously really well. He won in Winston-Salem. He was playing also before the American swing really well. I knew it would be really tough."
The World No. 8 also reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows in 2020 and the semi-finals in 2019, which had been his best Grand Slam result until he advanced to this year’s Wimbledon final.
Strengthening his claim to a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals on home soil in Turin in November, Berrettini next faces German qualifier Oscar Otte and is seeded to meet World No. 1 and his Wimbledon conqueror Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
World No. 144 Otte fired 15 aces in a 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 win over Italian veteran Andreas Seppi. The 28-year, who had just five tour-level wins to his name before the US Open, survived third-set tie-breaks in his first two qualifying matches and also rallied from a set down in the final round of qualifying against Bernabe Zapata Miralles just to make the main draw.