Berrettini Rolls Into Naples SFs
Berrettini Rolls Into Naples SFs
Matteo Berrettini continued to look comfortable on the seaside hard courts of the Tennis Napoli Cup on Friday, when the home favourite delivered a dominant 6-2, 6-3 quarter-final victory against Taro Daniel.
The second seed picked up where he left off in his second-round win against Roberto Carballes Baena in Friday’s quarter-final clash, breaking Daniel’s serve in the opening game. Berrettini barely looked back thereafter, cruising to an 84-minute win to reach his fifth tour-level semi-final of the season.
“I think I was aggressive [from] the very first game and I got the break early in the first set and I felt confident,” said Berrettini after the match. “I didn’t give him the time to organise or [let him] make me move too much. We played each other many times, so I kind of knew what to expect from him, and my plan worked really well.”
A FIFTH semi-final of the year for Matteo Berrettini! 🙌
The home favourite defeats Taro Daniel 6-2 6-3 in Naples.#TennisNapoliCupbyBCP pic.twitter.com/nKtJlnGLIo
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 21, 2022
Berrettini fired 36 winners, including seven aces, to extend his ATP Head2Head series lead against Daniel to 3-1. The Italian was particularly happy to put on a strong showing in front of his parents, who were watching on from the stands.
“It’s super important and I’m super proud that they’re here,” said Berrettini. “Obviously without them I wouldn’t be here… When I started playing tennis, they were the ones that brought me everywhere, so I’m so happy that they’re here, that they can enjoy this atmosphere, and hopefully they’re proud of me.”
The 26-year-old will take on Mackenzie McDonald, a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 winner against Zhang Zhizhen, in the semi-finals as he looks to win his first ATP Tour title in his homeland. Berrettini can also stay within touching distance of a qualification spot for November’s Nitto ATP Finals with a good result in Naples. Friday’s win lifted him one spot to 14th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.
Berettini’s countryman Lorenzo Musetti enjoyed a similarly emphatic quarter-final triumph as he downed Daniel Elahi Galan 6-3, 6-0. Musetti broke the Colombian four times en route to a 78-minute win to cruise into his third consecutive tour-level semi-final.
The 20-year-old Musetti, who is third in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan, has already qualified for November’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. He will next take on fifth seed Miomir Kecmanovic, who upset top seed Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 6-2 to reach his third tour-level semi-final of the season.
Carreno Busta was seeking his second win of the day, having halted the run of home hope Fabio Fognini with a 6-1, 6-1 second-round victory on Friday morning. The Spaniard could not back that win up against Kecmanovic, however, as the Serbian converted four of seven break points to extend his ATP Head2Head series lead against Carreno Busta to 2-0.