Carlos Alcaraz warned of ‘ferocious’ Matteo Berrettini weapon ahead of Wimbledon clash

Shahida Jacobs 10 Jul 2023 12:05 PM

Matteo Berrettini celebrations

Carlos Alcaraz will face one of his greatest challenges at Wimbledon when he takes on Matteo Berrettini in the fourth round with one pundit stating that he “does like” the Italian’s chances.

At the beginning of the tournament not too many people would have fancied Berrettini to give Alcaraz a run for his money as he had endured a difficult 2023 campaign.

The former world No 6 missed most of the clay-court season – including Roland Garros – due to a stomach muscle tear and only returned at the Stuttgart Open in mid-June. However, he lost his opener in Germany and left the court in tears.

Not long after he opted to skip his Queen’s Club Championship title defence due to the same abdominal injury, raising fears that he could miss Wimbledon.

Fast forward three weeks and he is in the round of 16 after beating the likes of 15th seed Alex de Minaur and 19th seed Alexander Zverev with his win over the latter particularly impressive.

Alcaraz stands in his way of a quarter-final place and the world No 1 has already won five titles this year, including his maiden title on grass at Queen’s Club.

Tennis pundit and former professional Mark Petchey, who coached three-time Grand Slam winner Murray during the early days of his career, feels Monday’s clash could be a real slugfest due to the Italian’s serving prowess.

“It’s a great match-up,” he explained on Stan Sport’s Grand Slam Daily. “Obviously Alcaraz has the slight edge in terms of the head-to-head, two and one, but Berrettini got them at the only Grand Slam they played Down Under in Melbourne in a gripping fifth set as well. A couple of those have gone to a fifth-set breaker.

“In terms of Matteo’s game, the lift that we’ve seen since Stuttgart has been exceptional. Back in 2021, he was the leader on the Tour in terms of service games won – that’s how dominant his serve can be. His serve, plus one, is arguably the most ferocious out there.

“We talk a lot about Alcaraz’s forehand, but Matteo’s is arguably even better in that combination. Given the way he’s made it through to this round, I do like his chances.”

Petchey, though, still fancies Alcaraz to win the battle against the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up.

He added: “I have to go with Carlos.

“I feel as though his win at Queen’s will give him enough confidence but he’s going to get challenged.”