Matteo Berrettini was up 2-0 against Carlos Alcaraz but was forced to win it in 5 after dropping off in the 3rd and 4th.
It was a brilliant match between Alcaraz and Berrettini that went the full distance but ultimately saw the Italian win in the super tiebreak. Both players displayed a high level but Berrettini ultimately showed more confidence in his game down the stretch and it got him the win. Whenever he needed to produce a big forehand or serve he did.
Speaking on the match, the Italian said:
"I felt confident, and that momentum was on my side in the third set but then I got broken. My energy wasn't right in the fourth set and in the fifth I just started to think about fighting for every point. In every match something happens [like the ankle injury] but I fought through it."
The last time they played, in Vienna last year, Alcaraz prevailed in a tiebreak but this time around it was Matteo who won. Heading into it he was unsure whether he would be able to do it :
"I've played a fifth-set tiebreaker but I never played up to 10, and
I think it's pretty weird... something that we are not used to it. The last time he beat me 7-6 in the third, so [you could say] he has
experience. Today I was, I guess, better than him in certain moments.
For sure the fact that he's young, in a Slam is different than in normal
tournament."