Matteo Berrettini won his first-ever ATP trophy at the Swiss Open in Gstaad in 2018, and this year, the Italian re-lived that experience by winning it again.
The Swiss Open in Gstaad holds a special place in Berrettini's heart because the Italian won his maiden ATP trophy in the city in 2018. It was the trophy that started the Italian on a journey in which he would later become a Top 10 player and also stand in the Wimbledon final, among other career achievements.
Outside of that, first trophies are always fondly remembered by tennis players, and athletes in general, and coming back to Gstaad this year proved to be another wonderful experience for the Italian player.
He came to Gstaad to get a feel for clay ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which are supposed to begin in a few days, starting on July 27th, and he got much more than he hoped for.
The 28-year-old performed at a high level, winning a couple of matches that boosted his confidence. He found himself in the final after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in two sets in a blockbuster semi-final.
His final opponent was Quentin Halys, a player who doesn't have a lot of experience with playing ATP Tour-level final matches, and it showed in the final, as the experience of his opponent prevailed.
The fact that both made the final shouldn't be a huge surprise, as we're talking about an event held at a high altitude, which benefits great serves, and they both are great on their service.
Berrettini, though, does many little things on a much higher level than his opponent, and it showed in this match. The first break came midway through the opening set, as Berrettini took a 5-3 lead.
The match was then stopped for a while because a quick rain shower interrupted the play, but the players didn't have to wait too long to continue. The stoppage of play hurt Halys because the Frenchman looked completely out of it when they returned.
He lost his serve once more upon return to lose the opening set 3-6 and then lost his serve early in the second set as well, giving Berrettini a quick 3-0 lead, and he never got back into the match, as the sixth seed was just too solid.
The Italian has been too solid on his serve the whole week, and after taking a break in the second set, there was almost no chance that he would let that one slip away. Halys looked good until the first hurdle, and when he got broken, it was simply game over for the Frenchman.
The final score of the match was 6-3, 6-1 for the Italian, who proved himself a great challenge in altitude once more. He completely dominated with his serve, winning 26 out of 29 points on his first serve, hitting 21 winners, and only 2 unforced errors.
Halys didn't play a good match and hit his serve only 44% of the time, which was far too low. On the other hand, it was a great week for Berrettini, who lifted his second trophy in Gstaad and positioned himself as a player to watch in Paris because, with this kind of level, he will be very difficult to beat.
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