Love of tennis behind revival of injury-plagued Berrettini

ByBobbie Jackson

BBC Sport Journalist

A beaming Matteo Berrettini said tennis is the "love of my life" after reaching a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time in almost four years.

Berrettini beat Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (8-6) to set up a French Open last-eight tie against Frances Tiafoe or Matteo Arnaldi.

The Italian reached a career-high world number six in 2022 but has slipped to 105th in the rankings after being plagued by injuries and fitness problems.

"[Tennis] is the love of my life, if it wasn't I wouldn't be here," Berrettini said.

"After all the setbacks, all the injuries, all the bad moments, I came back once again.

"There were moments where it was really tough to come back and play, because I wasn't ready and I wasn't sure about my confidence - now I feel great."

Berrettini is the lowest-ranked Roland Garros quarter-finalist since Igor Andreev in 2007.

Berrettini lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2021 Wimbledon final and was beaten in the Australian Open semi-finals the following January.

His last Grand Slam quarter-final appearance was at the 2022 US Open, and he has missed six of the following 13 majors through injury.

"There are so many players who are playing unbelievable tennis," said Berrettini.

"Tennis is unpredictable. The field is pretty packed and I'm trying to give my best, I'm focusing on my game and I want to enjoy this win."

Berrettini came through the longest match of his career in the previous round - saving two match points to win in five hours and 16 minutes - to signal injury issues might be a thing of the past.

The 30-year-old showed no hangover from that performance during his encounter with Cerundolo, as he raced through the opening set and came through a tie-break in the second.

Cerundolo threatened a fightback in the third when breaking for a 3-2 lead but Berrettini struck back for 5-5 and saved three match points before winning the tie-break.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, a two-time US Open semi-finalist, used his experience to come through a potentially tricky tie against Alejandro Tabilo 6-3 7-5 6-1.

In theory, Chile's Tablio should have been the fresher of the competitors, having spent about six hours less on court last week after being handed a walkover in round two.

Canada's Auger-Aliassime started strongly, though, breaking at 3-1 before the remainder of the opening set stayed on serve.

Tabilo had never previously gone beyond the third round at a Slam but raised his level in the second.

The 28-year-old, who celebrates his birthday on Tuesday, played aggressively from the baseline and it almost paid dividends as he looked to break for 5-4.

But Auger-Aliassime raised his level to break for a 6-5 lead and served out the set to take full control.

Tabilo wilted in the third and was broken three times as his hopes of a first major quarter-final spot were ended.

"Since I was 12 or 13 it has always been a dream for me to get this far," Auger-Aliassime said.

"I am a French-speaking guy - I can say I am very, very happy to get your support and I hope I will have your support until the end."

Fourth seed Auger-Aliassime will face 10th seed Flavio Cobolli for a place in the semi-finals after the Italian beat Zachary Svajda 6-2 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5).

Cobolli looked on course for a routine victory after wrapping up the opening two sets in one hour and 25 minutes - breaking twice in each.

Svajda, 23, finally found some rhythm in the third and came through a tie-break to get a foothold in the match.

Cobolli immediately wrestled back control in the fourth, racing into a 4-0 lead, but Svajda - who had never previously gone beyond the second round of a Grand Slam - refused to give up.

The American fought back from 5-1 down, breaking twice and saving match point, to force another tie-break, but Cobolli eventually got over the line to reach just his second Grand Slam quarter-final.

"The only thing that I understood today is that the match is never done," Cobolli said.