Matteo Berrettini’s form is returning as he clambers back up the ranking ladder with another excellent result at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakesh, Morrocco, to reach his first final since October 2022.
The former world No.6, came back from one set down to beat Argentina’s Mariano Navone 6-7(4) 6-3 6-2 in two hours and 42-minutes to progress to the title round where he will face the defending champion, Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena.
Berrettini made his come-back at the ATP Challenger Tour in Phoenix, where he lost to Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the final but in Miami, he lost to Britain’s Andy Murray in the opening round.
On this occasion it was Navone who took early charge saving two break points in the second game before capturing Berrettini’s big serve in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead.
Berrettini though, broke back in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3 and then held a set point when he was serving for the opening set at 6-5 which he failed to convert as Navone, the seventh seed, forced a tiebreak.
There both players traded mini-breaks until the ninth point, when Navone earned his second mini-break to clinch the tie-break 7-4.
Berrettini earned an early break in the third game of the second set and broke for the second time in the final game to seal the second set and level the semi-final.
By now the 27-year-old Italian had worked out his best strategy against the 23-year-old South American, as he swept into a 5-2 lead in the decider and then secured his place in the final on his first match point.
“It’s been nearly three hours, so I am pretty tired, but I am really happy. I think it was definitely the toughest match of the week. Congratulations to him, he played a really solid match. The support was unbelievable. I am a little tired, but too excited for the final tomorrow”, Berrettini said.
Meanwhile the defending champion Roberto Carballes Baena beat Pavel Kotov 6-4 6-2 to extend his winning streak to nine consecutive matches in Marrakech, the Spaniard converting four of his six break points he raised. The 31-year-old from Tenerife, is chasing his third title while his final opponent hopes to improve his career total to eight.
Roberto Carballes Baena is the defending champion
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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