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[2] Rafael Nadal -02- (ESP) def [24] Matteo Berrettini -25- (ITA)
Match recap from Arthur Ashe Stadium announcer Andy Taylor.
Rafael Nadal saved two set-points in the first-set of tonight’s Semifinal, and won it from two-minibreaks-down in the tiebreak. Champions find a way.
By the end of set-2, Berrettini’s first-serve percentage was solid (over 70%), but he was only winning 42% of points on his second-serve. Those second attempts gave Nadal the edge, with 10 break opportunities. He finally converted his first break before the 3rd changeover. Meanwhile, over 2-hours into the match, Berrettini still hadn’t seen a single break point. Frustrating.
In the third, air escaped the Berrettini balloon early. After a pair of deuces in the opening game, Matteo handed Nadal his second break of the match with an unforced forehand error. Nadal broke again before the second changeover. The rest was mere formality.
On Sunday, Rafael Nadal will face first-time Slam Finalist Daniil Medvedev – a rematch of this Summer’s championship match in Montreal, where Nadal won his record 35th ATP Masters-1000 title. Sunday’s climax will be Nadal’s 5th US Open Final and 27th championship match at a Major.
The target: Grand Slam title #19.
NEXT: [5] Daniil Medvedev -05- (RUS) vs [2] Rafael Nadal -02- (ESP)
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Semifinal Biography | [2] Rafael Nadal -02- (ESP)
Now an 18-time Major Champion, this 33-year-old is one of the greatest to ever play the game. This June at Roland Garros, he again defended his title, becoming the first player to win a Grand Slam tournament 12-times – surpassing Margaret Court’s long-standing record of 11 Australian Open victories. A 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist and 4-time Davis Cup Champion – with his US Open Series victory in Montreal this Summer, he now owns a record 35 ATP Masters-1000 titles and 83 career Singles titles in all. And it was here in 2010, at just 24-years-old, he became only the 7th man in tennis history – and youngest in the Open era – to earn the career Grand Slam. Tonight, he is competing in his 33rd career Grand Slam Semifinal…his 8th here at the US Open. From Mallorca, Spain – Please welcome 3-time US Open Champion Rafael Nadal.
▲ SF: def [24] Matteo Berrettini -25- (ITA) 76(6) 64 61
▲ QF: def [21] Diego Schwartzman -21- (ARG) 64 75 62
▲ R4: def [22] Marin Cilic -23- (CRO) 63 36 61 62
▲ R3: def [Q] Hyeon Chung -170- (KOR) 63 64 62
▲ R2: -WALKOVER- | Thanasi Kokkinakis -203- (AUS)
▲ R1: def John Millman -60- (AUS) 63 62 62
Semifinal Biography | [24] Matteo Berrettini -25- (ITA)
Last year, this hard-serving 25-year-old made his US Open main-draw debut. This year? He’s competing in his first Grand Slam Semifinal. On Wednesday, he earned a spot in today’s Semifinal with a 4-hour, deciding-set tiebreak victory over Gael Monfils…and with the win, became the first Italian man to reach the US Open Semifinals in 42-years. A 3-time Finalist this season – he captured his second ATP Tour Singles title this year in Budapest, won his third in Stuttgart, made his Grand Slam Round of 16 debut at Wimbledon, and climbed to a career-high ranking of World #20. Fans first stood-up and took notice last Summer, when he captured his first ATP Singles and Doubles titles in Gstaad, earning the Singles title without dropping a set. From Italy, please welcome, Matteo Berrettini.
▲ QF: def [13] Gael Monfils -13- (FRA) 36 63 62 36 76(5)
▲ R4: def Andrey Rublev -43- (RUS) 61 64 76(6)
▲ R3: def Alexei Popyrin -105- (AUS) 64 64 67(3) 76(2)
▲ R2: def Jordan Thompson -55- (AUS) 75 76(5) 46 61
▲ R1: def Richard Gasquet -36- (FRA) 64 63 26 62
Head to Head
This is the first meeting between these two players.
