Matteo Berrettini secures huge ATP Rankings boost as he ends title drought

Ewan West
Matteo Berrettini looks on before a match in Miami 2024
Matteo Berrettini has pulled out of the French Open.

Matteo Berrettini has ensured he will return to the top 100 of the ATP Rankings after he won his first title since 2022 with his triumph at the 2024 Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech. 

The Italian convincingly defeated defending champion Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5, 6-2 in the final of the ATP 250 clay-court tournament in Morocco on Sunday.

Having trailed 3-1 in the opening set, Berrettini turned it around by breaking the 31-year-old Spaniard twice — including crucially at 5-5 — before he won five straight points to hold from 0-40 as he served the set out.

The 27-year-old then saved three break points in his opening service game in the second set, before breaking his 64th-ranked to go up 2-1 and 4-1 as he surged to a decisive victory.

Berrettini, who was ranked 135th going into the tournament, has climbed 51 places to a live ATP ranking of world No 84 with the 250 points earned from his title run.

The 2021 Wimbledon runner-up, who reached a career-high ranking of 6 in January 2022, has now won eight ATP singles titles from 13 final appearances. His previous title had come almost two years ago at the Queen’s Club Championships in June 2022.

The Italian made his comeback after over six months out due to injury at the Phoenix Challenger last month, where he reached the final and lost to Nuno Borges.

Berrettini, who was beaten by Andy Murray in the opening round in Miami last month in his only tour-level match since August, was impressive in Marrakech given his lack of recent action.

Prior to beating Carballes Baena in the title match, he overcame Alexander Shevchenko, Jaume Munar, Lorenzo Sonego and Mariano Navone.

Speaking at the trophy ceremony in Marrakech, Berrettini expressed his appreciation for everyone who helped him during his injury struggles.

“I want to thank my team. It’s been a tough past couple of years, I would say, and thanks to them I was able to overcome all the tough moments. My body wasn’t allowing me to play, so it’s thanks to [them] that I am here,” said the 27-year-old.

“[I also want to thank] all the people that made my comeback possible. All my friends, my family, people that were with me all the times when I was sad and injured, and I didn’t think I could make it, so thank you very much.”

Berrettini will next compete at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he will face world No 50 Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round.

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