Matteo Berrettini is once again in a Stuttgart Open final, and this time, he'll face Jack Draper in a fight for the title
The Italian has played in the final in the German city before, in 2022, and won the trophy that year. He's a wonderful grass player, having made the Wimbledon final years ago, and he's back to winning ways on the surface.
He was absent for a while from the ATP Tour, dealing with more physical issues, which have become quite common for him lately. Outside of a close match with Roman Safiullin, the Italian was hardly challenged at all en route to the final this year.
His most recent match against compatriot Lorenzo Musetti was super impressive, as he handed him a bagel. Draper was no less impressive in making the final. The Brit is once again proving to be a natural on grass, with his tremendous serve wrecking people comfortably en route to the final.
This is a very worthy final because these two were the best players this week at the ATP 250 tournament in Stuttgart.
They have never played against each other, and that's not a huge surprise. Both have missed a lot of time in recent years, so it's pretty hard to play when you're not actually playing regularly.
Still, the matchup is fascinating, especially on grass, where both should, in theory, dominate on their serves. The margins will be very small for either player, so it's very likely that the match will feature a tie-break at least once.
However, Berrettini's track record on grass makes him the favorite, as minor as that might be.
| Matteo Berrettini | Jack Draper | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | H2H | 0 |
| 95 | Rank | 40 |
| 28 | Age | 22 |
| 9-2 | 2024 W/L | 17-12 |
| 165-88 | Career W/L | 57-41 |
Still, the reality seems to favour Draper who just looks in the zone this week, and he's been just proving why he's such a good grass-court player.
Prediction: Jack Draper to win in two sets.