Wimbledon 2021: It takes a couple of hours to figure out what happened, says Matteo Berrettini after successfully reaching the final
World number 9 Matteo Berrettini was at a loss for words after his outstanding victory over Hubert Hurkac in the semifinals of Wimbledon 2021 on Thursday. The 25-year-old entered the history of the All England club, becoming the first Italian tennis player to reach the Wimbledon final with a four-set victory over the Polish 14th seed.
The 7th-seeded Berrettini came up with a near-perfect performance to outclass Roger Federer-slayer Hurkacz 6-3, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4 in their last-four clash on Center Court.
Berrettini will face the winner of the second semi-final between world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 10 Denis Shapovalov in the final on Sunday.
“I have no words. I need, I think, a couple of hours to understand what happened. I just know that I played a great match. I’m really happy. I’m really glad to be here.
“I think I never dreamed about this because it was too much for a dream,” Berrettini said in his on-court interview
When Berrettini enters the court on July 11, he will become the first Italian to play in a title match at any major since Adriano Panatta won the 1976 French Open.
“So far, it’s the best day, tenniswise, of my life,” said the 25-year-old Berrettini, who lost his only previous major semifinal at the 2019 U.S. Open. “Hopefully Sunday’s going to be even better.”
Berrettini is now on an 11-match winning streak on grass courts, including a title at the Queen’s Club tuneup last month, when he became the first man since Boris Becker in 1985 to win the trophy in his debut at that event. Becker went on to triumph at Wimbledon that year.
