By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Sunday, April 7, 2024
Matteo Berrettini dethroned defending champion Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5, 6-2 to capture his eighth career title in Marrakech.
Photo credit: Grand Prix Hassan 2 Tennis Facebook
Matteo Berrettini played first-strike tennis to earn a long-awaited title.
The 27-year-old Berrettini dethroned defending champion Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5, 6-2 to capture his eighth career title in Marrakech.
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Converting match point, Berrettini bent over and covered his face with his hands in an eruption of pure emotion.
“I want to thank my team,” Berrettini said during the trophy ceremony. “It’s been a tough past couple of years, I would say, and thanks to them I was able to overcome all the tough moments.
"My body wasn’t allowing me to play, so it’s thanks to that I am here. "[I also want to thank] all the people that made my comeback possible. All my friends, my family, people that were with me all the times when I was sad and injured, and I didn’t think I could make it, so thank you very much.”
Competing with gratitude, Berrettini was tenacious on pivotal points today.
It is Berrettini's first ATP title since the 2022 Queen's Club on grass and his first clay-court crown since the 2021 Belgrade.
Playing just his second Tour-level tournament of the year, Berrettini rallied from a break down to snap Carballes Baena's nine-match Marrakech winning streak.
Berrettini served 71 percent, won 74 percent of his first-serve points and saved seven of eight break points, including all three break points he faced in the second set.
Riding a nine-match Marrakech winning streak into today’s final, the Spaniard showed why he’s so comfortable on this red clay.
Racing right, Carballes Baena hit an electric running forehand pass right off the baseline for break point.
When Berrettini flattened a forehand into net, Carballes Baena had first-break blood, 3-1.
Booming his forehand with menacing intent, Berrettini won six of the next eight games to snatch a one-set lead.
The big-serving Berrettini fended off three break points leveling the second set, 1-1.
That stand sparked Berrettini, who broke twice in succession stretching his second-set lead to 5-1. Berrettini closed in one hour 46 minutes.
Beset by injuries last season, Berrettini is the first Italian to win Marrakech since Daniele Bracciale in 2006.
The victory vaults Berrettini 51 spots to No. 84 in the ATP Live Rankings.