"It feels unbelievable" says Berrettini after win over Monfils

Matteo Berrettini survived a spirited Gael Monfils fight back in the early hours of Wednesday morning to become the first Italian man to reach the semi-finals at the Australian Open.

In a heavy-hitting, all-action performance on Rod Laver Arena, Berrettini clawed past the Frenchman 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2 in an epic clash to keep his title hopes alive in Melbourne. Berrettini was dominating early but Monfils fought back to make it interesting. Berrettini was relieved after the match saying:

“It feels unbelievable. I am really happy for myself. What a great fight against Gael. It was a great match with a lot of emotions. I thought I had him in the third set and then I found myself in the fifth. But I really fought hard and put everything on the court and that is why I am really happy.”

Berrettini was not thinking much about the semifinal or anything else, instead focusing simply on winning the match. He noted that he took the same approach he had against Alcaraz:

“I was just focused on winning the match. I had a couple of break points [in the third set] and I couldn’t take them and tennis is like this. It happened with Alcaraz as well. I was leading and then they start to play better.”

Next up will be Rafael Nadal who had a tough quartefinals match as well.