Matteo Berrettini seems to be unstoppable, as he's already won his 10th consecutive match to win the 2024 Kitzbuhel Open.
There is no doubt about the fact that Berrettini is one of the most talented players on the ATP Tour. However, what he's not is one of the healthiest players, as in his career, the Italian has struggled with multiple injuries.
Unfortunately, that was the case also this year, as he missed a lot of time. He returned at an ATP Challenger tournament in Phoenix, reaching the final, and competed in Miami after that.
Already his third tournament back saw him lift the trophy as Berrettini won the Marrakech Open. He then couldn't follow up on that success during the clay-court part of the season, as yet another injury ruled him out of actin.
The Italian, however, returned during his favorite part of the season, the grass-court swing, reaching the final in Stuttgart, but at Wimbledon, he ran into the World No. 1, Jannik Sinner, already in the second round, which cut his run short.
However, after that, Berrettini had a different path as the most of his rivals, as he didn't go to the Paris Olympics, but instead, signed up for back-to-back clay-court tournaments in Gstaad and Kitzbuhel.
He won the title at the Swiss Open without losing a set, and as unbelievable as that may sound, he did the same exact thing also at the Kitzbuhel Open, winning the title without losing a single set.
He dominated all of his opponent en route to the final, especially on his serve, and that same applied also to his final match against Hugo Gaston from France, who was looking to win his first Tour-level title.
However, the Frenchman couldn't use his only break point in the opening set of the match, and given how the Italian has been serving this week, he knew it could prove costly, and it did.
Gaston then lost a 40-love lead on his serve, losing nine of the following 10 rallies, and as a result, he lost the opening set of the match 5-7.
Berrettini continued his charge in the second set, and very quickly, he broke his opponent's serve two times to lead 5-2 and serve for the title, but then, something unexpected happened.
Berrettini lost his serve, something he has done rarely this week. Still, he was able to add one more break and win the match 7-5, 6-3 to win his 10th consecutive match and lift the trophy at the 2024 Kitzbuhel Open, which also marked his 10th career title.
Obviously, Berrettini was really happy after the final, and he was also happy about his level. That will translate also into the rankings, as he is set to move up by another 10 positions, jumping up to the World No. 40 spot, relatively close to a seeding spot at the 2024 US Open, where he certainly could be a threat if he continues playing like this.
"I played some of the best tennis of my life in these two weeks. I'm very proud."
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