Berrrettini's return to clay is going strong in Gstaad as the Italian came back from 1-5 in the tiebreak of the 2nd set to win in three sets.
Oh boy, what a ride that was for
Matteo Berrettini. He faced a very inspired effort from Pedro Martinez who is certainly capable of a strong showing on clay. Today was very much one of those days as the Spaniard proved better in the opening set taking it 6-3. It was a very comfortable first set for him largely because Berrettini did not serve that well.
He gave plenty of opportunities to Martinez who used them. Berrettini did not get many and one he did get, was squandered. The 2nd set was better from Berrettini albeit not that much. He did serve better and was able to keep his serve but he created very little pressure on return. Martinez cruised in his service games and he cruised in the tiebreak, almost cruised to a victory.
Pedro was up 5-1 in the tiebreak looking primed for a huge upset win but then things fell apart. He lost a point on his serve, then two on Berrettini's and it was 5-4. Then he dropped two more on his serve and Berrettini converted the first set point for the huge comeback. It went by rather quickly and left the Spaniard stunned that he never recovered.
The final set was a comfortable demolition for Berrettini who won it 6-1 to secure a spot in the semifinal. Huge win for the Italian.