After his successful return to tennis at the 2024 Stuttgart Open, Matteo Berrettini will play Denis Shapovalov in his second match at the ATP 250 event.
The Italian returned to tennis at the Stuttgart Open, winning a hugely complicated battle against Roman Safiullin. Berrettini, in some ways, was a surprising winner of that match because he saved multiple break points in that final set before the Russian eventually got broken himself.
Still, he won the match, so now he'll face Shapovalov in the second round, which is a fascinating matchup. Both are solid grass players, but the Italian is far better because he's far more stable in his play.
He also has the better serve, which is a huge weapon for him as the 27 aces mark from the match against the Russian shows. Shapovalov also had a solid start, however, he's not as stable in his tennis as Berrettini. To demonstrate, the Canadian had 9 aces in his first match in the German city but also 10 double faults.
Head-to-head:
Shapovalov and Berrettini have played two times so far in ATP Tour-level matches, and both times, the Canadian won. Those matches happened years ago, the most recent one being in 2019, so a lot has happened since then.
Since then, Shapovalov has regressed as a player, while Berrettini has mostly improved or remained at a similar level. They were close three-set matches, and this one might be, too. It will be played on grass, and both are tough to break, but the former Wimbledon finalist should hold an edge.
| Matteo Berrettini | Denis Shapovalov | |
| 0 | H2H | 2 |
| 95 | Rank | 117 |
| 28 | Age | 25 |
| 6-2 | 2024 W/L | 10-14 |
| 162-88 | Career W/L | 191-163 |
Prediction:
The serve saved Berrettini multiple times against Safiullin and will be a major factor in this match as well. That and his overall level should power him past Shapovalov.
Prediction: Matteo Berrettini to in two sets.
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