Berrettini Blasts Past Chardy At The US Open
Matteo Berrettini faced a difficult first-round foe on Tuesday afternoon at the US Open, but navigated the big points well to beat Jeremy Chardy 7-6(5), 7-6(7), 6-3 after two hours and 31 minutes.
The Italian did well to battle through his opener in straight sets in his first major appearance since advancing to the Wimbledon final two months ago. The sixth seed blasted 37 winners to just 15 unforced errors and will next play countryman Stefano Travaglia or Frenchman Corentin Moutet.
The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center has been a good venue for Berrettini, who made his first big breakthrough at Flushing Meadows two years ago by advancing to the semi-finals as the 24th seed.
Now the 25-year-old is a consistent threat at every tournament, and he is currently in sixth place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin. The Rome-native is pursuing a second appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, which would be especially meaningful this year as the season finale moves to his home country.
Berrettini had to work hard to move past the dangerous Chardy, who owns three Top 10 wins at majors. However, the Frenchman was unable to capitalise on big opportunities in the first two sets.
Chardy hit a double fault with a 5/3 lead in the first-set tie-break, and lost the set. He then served for the second set, but was unable to convert a set point at 5-4 before again falling short in a tie-break.
In the pair’s only previous ATP Head2Head meeting in Marseille two years ago, Berrettini triumphed 7-6(12), 7-6(0). But they would not go to a fifth consecutive tie-break. Berrettini continued playing his aggressive game as Chardy’s level slipped, and he broke twice to take the third set.
Did You Know?
Berrettini has now won seven consecutive matches against Frenchman dating back to July 2018.