Matteo Berrettini continued his run in Stuttgart with another solid win to secure the semi-final of the event he won two years ago.
Berrettini is no stranger to playing well in Stuttgart because he went all the way here two years ago. Grass is a surface that suits him, and Stuttgart's lower bounce only boosts him in that regard. James Duckworth played really solid tennis to find himself in the quarterfinal, but today was too much of a task for him as Berrettini dominated.
The opening set was a typical grass set. Both players started well without a break in the first four games, but it came in game 5. The Italian broke his opponent after a few highlight plays, and that was all he really needed. After that, Berrettini largely cruised unbothered, as the Australian couldn't really touch his serve.
He had six aces and lost only a handful of points on his serve. He certainly didn't face a single break point, and that trend would continue in the second set. Berrettini was largely unbothered by his serve, but he would bother Duckworth quite a bit.
At 2-2 in the second set, Berrettini jumped out to a 40-0 lead; however, Duckworth would miraculously hold the serve to take a 3-2 lead. That was a huge missed chance for Berrettini, who simply couldn't convert. It complicated a match that didn't have to be that complicated.
Berrettini waited a long time to get a chance ot break again, and it came at the end of the set at 5-5 when he finally broke, taking a 6-5 lead. The Italian could hold his serve quite easily in the next game, finishing the match in two sets.
Overall, Berrettini's performance was good. He is doing what he needs to do to win matches, which is all he hoped for when he came this week. The final score was 6-4, 7-5.
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