Matteo Berrettini had a very shaky start against
Tommy Paul but the defending champion rallied in superb fashion to oust Tommy Paul 6-4 6-2 for the Queen's semifinal.
If you tuned in to this match after the first three games you might have thought that Matteo Berrettini was in major trouble. He was down 0-3 against Paul who played some very attacking tennis. The American resolved to play quite aggressively with a lot of volleying and it worked initially. Once Matteo adjusted properly it was over quickly.
Berrettini won 5 games in a row to close out the first set after being down 1-4. The Italian did a lot of damage with his forehand as well as the backhand slice that left Paul scratching his head as to what to do. The American is polarizing when his game works but once he hits a wall, there is very little substance and ability to adjust.
That's exactly what happened to him in this match. After getting that first set, Berrettini opted for a similar style and once again it worked. He knew his opponent was limited in what he could do and Matteo attacked that. Ultimately it was a 6-2 2nd set finish for the easy win. Quite a turnaround from 0-3 as Berrettini won 12 of the next 15 games played to cruise into the semifinal.