Berrettini wins US Open thriller as favorite Nadal targets semis

NEW YORK: Matteo Berrettini became the first Italian man to reach the US Open semi-finals in 42 years Wednesday to set up a potential showdown with title favorite Rafael Nadal, who resumes his quest for a 19th Grand Slam crown.

Berrettini, the 24th seed, matched Corrado Barazzutti´s run to the last four in 1977 after outlasting 13th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) in three hours and 57 minutes.

The 23-year-old from Rome will meet the winner of a later match between Spanish three-time US Open champion Nadal and Argentina´s Diego Schwartzman for a place in Sunday´s final at Flushing Meadows.

Berrettini joined Barazzutti, 1976 Roland Garros champion Adriano Panatta and Marco Cecchinato as just the fourth Italian to advance to a men´s Grand Slam semi-final in singles.

“What a great fight. I think it was one of the best matches I maybe ever saw — I was playing but I also saw. I´m really happy I don´t know what to say,” Berrettini said.

The first-time Slam quarter-finalist blew a 5-2 lead in the final set and four match points before finally seeing off Monfils in a thriller at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I was lucky I had match points and he didn´t have it — it´s better when you have them. I´m really proud of myself, I was always focusing on the next point.”

A nervous Berrettini doubled-faulted on his first match point at 5-3 before a resolute Monfils fought off two more on his serve to send the deciding set into a tie-break.

Monfils coughed up a costly pair of double faults in the breaker — and 17 in total — as Berrettini surged 5-2 ahead, the Frenchman rescuing a fourth match point before a booming serve from the Italian clinched a memorable win.

“Right now I don´t remember any points, just the match point. I remember also my double fault I must be honest,” Berrettini said.

– ´Tough´ pill to swallow –

Defeat for Monfils prolonged France´s lengthy wait for a first men´s Grand Slam title since Yannick Noah won the French Open in 1983.

“I know how to bounce back, I´ve had some tough ones here before,” said Monfils, who was beaten by Roger Federer in the 2014 quarter-finals after holding two match points.

“It was tough, I was just competing as much as I could but there was a big lack of serving today.”

“I´m going to take the positive from these two weeks,” he added.

Second seed Nadal — the winner at Flushing Meadows in 2010, 2013 and 2017 — plays Schwartzman in the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium and is the unquestionable favorite as the only former champion left in the men´s field.

The Spaniard is the only member of the “Big Three” still standing in New York after Federer followed Novak Djokovic through the exit door after a five-set loss to Grigor Dimitrov.

Nadal has defeated Schwartzman in all seven prior meetings but the 20th seed from Argentina can take heart from 78th-ranked Dimitrov´s upset of Federer, the Bulgarian having faced a similar predicament before dumping out the Swiss star in Tuesday´s quarter-final.

Schwartzman eliminated sixth seed Alexander Zverev in the last 16 to match his deepest Slam run. At 5ft 7in (1.70m) he would be the shortest Grand Slam semi-finalist since 5-foot-6 Harold Solomon at Roland Garros in 1980.

“He is playing amazing, nothing new, he´s one of the players with best talent on tour,” Nadal said of Schwartzman, who also made the last eight in New York in 2017.

“It will be a big challenge. I have to play my best. I´m happy for him. He´s a close friend and I hope to play a great match