Matteo Berrettini had arrived in Wimbledon at the nadir of his career after a nightmare 18 months filled with injuries and despair. As new ailments frequently sprung up and old wounds failed to heal, his body was crumbling under the strain of professional tennis. He spent his days before the tournament considering whether it would be worthwhile to simply withdraw.
Instead, he chose to play, tearing through the draw to reach the second week. On Monday, the Italian provided Carlos Alcaraz with one of the most difficult tests of his young career on the grass court, yet Alcaraz responded to the challenge supremely. After trailing by a set, the top seed recovered to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time in his career, defeating Berrettini 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
“I’m really, really happy to get through this amazing match. I’m really happy to be able to play my first quarter-final here in Wimbledon. Really excited about it. Let’s keep rolling,” said Alcaraz.
It is, perhaps, Alcaraz’s best career grass-court victory and a signifier of the progress he continues to make on the surface. A former Wimbledon finalist in 2021, Berrettini has won four of his seven career ATP titles on grass and he is a rare player of this generation whose strengths are actually accentuated on this surface. After losing the opening set, the top seed stepped up and thoroughly outplayed him.
Before the tournament, it seemed unlikely that the 27-year-old would play any role past the opening round. After an injury-ravaged 2022 season, which included being forced to withdraw from Wimbledon because of Covid, his issues worsened this season.
Upon his return from an abdominal injury at the beginning of the grass season in Stuttgart, Berrettini was demolished 6-1, 6-2 by Lorenzo Sonego and he left the court in tears. After withdrawing from Queen’s Club a week later, he doubted whether his body would last a match at Wimbledon.
From being a non-entity at the start of the tournament, though, Berrettini’s form exploded with straight sets wins over Alex de Minaur and Alexander Zverev. He stepped on to Centre Court against the top seed as one of the in-form players in the draw.
Wildcards Naiktha Bains and Maia Lumsden hailed becoming the first all-British pair to reach the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon women's doubles in 40 years as "surreal".
The rookie duo added Slovakians Viktoria Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova to their impressive list of scalps thanks to a stirring 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-3 win.
Jo Durie and Anne Hobbs were the previous British team to reach the last eight of the tournament in south-west London, doing so in 1983 before being beaten by top seeds Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver in the semi-finals.
"I guess it puts it in perspective, doesn't it? That's something we didn't know," said Leeds-born Bains. "It feels surreal to be honest. We wanted to back up last year's result of a first-round win. We wanted to go one better. But we're just taking it one match at a time and can't complain."
Bains and Lumsden, both 25, led by a set and a break on Court 18 but were forced to dig deep after being taken to a decider having narrowly failed to overturn a four-point deficit in the second-set tie-break.
Victory over Hruncakova and Mihalikova in two hours and 36 minutes sets up a last-eight clash with the winners of Tuesday's meeting between third seeds Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens and Czech duo Miriam Kolodziejova and Marketa Vondrousova.
The British pair's fine run at the All England Club is even more impressive given Lumsden feared her professional playing career may be ended by long Covid.
"During it, I didn't think I was going to get back playing sport," the Scot said of coronavirus, which she contracted in October 2020. That was like a year where I couldn't really do any exercise.
"I never really thought I would get back to playing professionally, so it's obviously unbelievable that I have got back to it now and I'm very grateful that I can." PA Media
As the Spaniard imposed his game, Berrettini’s confidence was reflected in how readily he navigated difficult moments in opening service games, saving three break points in the first set. Each time Alcaraz loomed, Berrettini kept him at arm’s length with a big serve or wicked forehand. Deep in the first set, it was Berrettini who took the first break.
Despite trailing by a set, the world No 1 could still take solace from his level of play despite failing to take his opportunities. Against one of the best servers in the world, Alcaraz was able to impose pressure in most return games.
He forced himself back into the match with more stellar returns, constantly taking the initiative with his explosive forehand and bringing Berrettini forward with his usual mixture of drop shots. His recovery included one of the shots of the tournament as he flicked a backhand around the net post at full sprint for a clean winner. Alcaraz broke serve early and saw out the set.
As Alcaraz’s game flowed, his far greater returning, athleticism, backhand and the freedom with which he struck his forehand marked the difference between them, and he stormed through the final three sets to secure a brilliant victory.
Afterwards, Berrettini maintained perspective despite his disappointment: “Probably in a few hours, a few days, I’m going to appreciate even more what I did. I really thought about not playing two days before the tournament. So being in the fourth round and losing like this against Carlos, it’s something I have to be proud of.”
Wednesday will mark the first time in the open era that two male players under the age of 21 face each other in a Wimbledon quarter-final as Alcaraz faces Holger Rune, his fellow 20‑year‑old.
Rune, the sixth seed, also reached his first Wimbledon quarter-final by defeating Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-3. “I’m really excited about this match,” said Alcaraz. “We shared a lot of great moments. We played together since we were 12 years old. We’ve not texted each other, but obviously we know each other really well. Yeah, I’m really excited about it. I think he’s the same.”
