Carlos Alcaraz managed to defeat former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in four sets in the fourth round.
Matteo Berrettini didn't have high expectations before the event because his prep was horrific. He only played one match in Stuttgart, a match he probably regrets playing. In a candid interview following his win over Zverev, Berrettini admitted that he didn't think he would play at the event but the thought of missing a second straight Wimbledon convinced him to try.
It proved a really good decision as produced a strong effort to make his way to the 4th round. It's far better than anybody anticipated because his return a few weeks ago was very poor and more generally his play overall this year has been anything but good.
Carlos Alcaraz had similar doubts as he arrived in the United Kingdom without any high expectations. The Cinch Championships run was a major surprise for him as he started to feel really confident. By the end of the event, Alcaraz was playing really strong tennis as he lifted his maiden trophy on the surface.
His expectations for Wimbledon changed as he now wanted to win it and so far it's going really solid. He had a few slips along the way, one in this match but for the most part, Alcaraz is backing up his bold claims. The first set went Berrettini's way because he played the crucial rallies better.
Those are very important on grass the Italian understood the assignment. His serve proved a crucial weapon though Alcaraz found solutions for it as the match went on. The second set was sensational from Alcaraz who was firing on all cylinders.
Berrettini didn't play that poorly but he was no match for Alcaraz who basted 13 winners; all of them vital. He also played the crucial points better this time and that was enough. The 3rd set saw Berrettini up his play going for winners more. It worked as he actually had more winners than Alcaraz but also more errors.
Ultimately he didn't see a single break point and that was bad news for the rest of the match. It meant that Alcaraz was in full control and he truly was. After allowing break points in both the first and second set, Alcaraz figured things out and was now cruising.
He waited for the perfect time to add another break and did it at 4-3 in the final set. He then closed it out in the next game. The final score was 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 for Alcaraz who had 4 aces, 35 winners and 23 unforced errors. He will face Holger Rune who defeated Grigor Dimitrov next.
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