A little over two months ago, face Matteo Berrettini He tells a completely opposite story to his present. The Italian tennis player was forced to leave ATP Finals 2021, held for the first time in his country, due to an injury to his stomach, prevented him from even finishing his first match before the stunning look of his opponent Alexander Zverev.

“I don’t know what it is. If it wasn’t something really big,” Berrettini said as he bid farewell to the ATP Finals crying after the first eight at the Australian Open. Grand Slam 2022.

Berrettini left behind two Americans (Brandon Nakashima and Stefan Kozlov) and two Spaniards (Carlos Alcaraz and Pablo Carreno) to enter the quarter-finals in Australia. After all, he entered the world number 7 ranked and there is a lot of eyes on him, after 2021 in which he reached his first Grand Slam final.

According to data from Mister Only Tennis, Berrettini became the first tennis player born from 1990 onwards with at least one of the quarterfinals of the top four teams, though, even before Australian Open 2022He only emerged victorious twice: at the US Open 2019 (semi-finals) and Wimbledon 2021 (runner-up).

“Be the first Italian to reach the quarter-finals in Australian Open It means I’m doing things well, something I didn’t think I could do when I was younger,” says the tennis player, who will turn 26 in April and is already considered a figure for his country.

The Roma native only started competing in the Grand Slam in 2017 and has a maximum effectiveness at Wimbledon of 77%. He won five singles titles and three times as a runner-up. Despite the fact that he never won a class greater than ATP 500, he started to monopolize the next generation spotlight that focused only on Zverev or Tsitsipas.

The Italian has achieved 86 weeks in the ATP top-10 and two finals, and little by little has overcome the grief of withdrawing from the most recent one due to injury. France’s Gael Monfils is his next opponent in the quarter-finals, but if he advances he could face historic Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals (if he beats Denis Shapovalov).

Nadal and Barty are back on the level. Zverev hits a wall

“When I came here, I knew I was not a candidate, you have to be realistic, but things change very quickly in sports. What is happening today, in a few days may seem something else. I am in a better position than I was 10 days ago,” said Rafael. Nadal when asked if he feels he is a favorite in the rules of the track and the game will dictate Australian Open 2022.

The question came after he confirmed his move to the quarter-finals, having left interesting bets like Adrian Mannarino and Karen Khachanov on the way; Now it’s up to him to face Denis Shapovalov, a rival he considers “has huge potential and when he plays well it’s hard to stop him”.

Nadal missed the last two Grand Slam: US Open s Wimbledon 2021Since his last participation at this level was in the semi-finals of Roland Garros (2021), but Australia has always been difficult for him, as he is the one who has won the fewest times despite his track record.

Only the Spaniard managed to take a crown Australian Open In 2009 and since then he has been ranked second in the rankings; Without Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic active in the current version, little by little has put him as the favorite to achieve the 21st Grand Slam title and achieve the historic tiebreak with the Swiss and Serbian, although he only comments: “I’m not suggesting I go day in and day out, as I did Always “.

In the female branch, the unstoppable number is Ashleigh Party. Playing at home, the No. 1 in the WTA rankings dictated her terms by winning all the first four sets of rounds, most recently against Amanda Anisimova, the same person who threw Naomi Osaka.

The home country of Australia has never been able to advance to a Grand Slam final on home soil, given that its maximum reach was in the 2020 semi-finals, as well as the fact that its only titles in this category were in Roland Garros 2019 s Wimbledon 2021. Starting the year on a high note, Barty is confident of breaking that story with his first home trophy.

“I learned a lot, and it was unbelievable to accept that we had a great season in 2019 and that we fulfilled the dream of being number one in the world. Constantly challenging myself and my team every day made me grow, but I never saw it as difficult. On the contrary, It was fun to keep growing and getting better every day,” she said after her victory over Anisimova.

Her next opponent will be American Jessica Pegola (No. 27 in the standings) and if she advances to the second semi-final of her Australian Open career, which she has played since 2012, Barty could clash with Barbora Krejsikova, No. 4 in the world in singles and No. 1 in doubles .

Barty wants to take advantage of the chance to retain the title after eliminating other great exponents in the first rounds, such as world number 3 Garbiñe Muguruza; No. 5 Maria Scarry; No. 6, Annette Kontaveit; and No. 8, Paula Padusa; All participants from the latest WTA Finals.

Contrary to the stories of Berrettini, Nadal or Barty, the German Alexander Zverev was knocked out in the round of 16 by Canadian Denis Shapovalov in three sets, and did not take advantage of the fact that he reached the tournament as the second candidate after the loss. Djokovic (No. 1 in the ATP rankings.) and only behind Daniil Medvedev (No. 2).

Statistics show that Zverev was not able to beat the top 10 players of the Grand Slam, but even against the top 20 he has a record of 4-15; However, age plays an additional role for him, as he is 24 years old and is already an Olympic king (gold medal in Tokyo 2020) and the two-time winner of ATP Finals (2018 and 2021).

The account on hold is still a Grand Slam and Zverev knows he can’t temper his performance to get there: “I had a good run, I came here with the goal of winning the championship and becoming number one in the world, but I think about it. With the performance you gave it doesn’t make sense. Him. I have to do better, there is no more. The only one responsible for this is me. The number 3 in the world should take responsibility and perform much better than the one I did.”

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