The Best Thing I Saw Today At Roland Garros: A healthy Matteo Berrettini wins a 5-hour battle

Matteo Berrettini ran halfway to the net, then ran back. He boxed himself into a corner of the court, and had to tap an awkward forehand that crawled over the net. He took huge swings on his ground strokes, but the ball hung up in the air instead of rocketing through the court, the way he wanted it to.

This was the Italian’s last stand. After doing battle with Argentina’s unflappable and seemingly uncrackable Francisco Comesama for five hours inside Court Simonne-Mathieu, Berrettini was down match point. He had fought back from a two sets to one deficit. He had kept his cool, on another hot day, through a 10-point final-set tiebreaker. He had reached match point four times. But he couldn’t shake Comesama. Now Berrettini staggered nervously around the court, hoping to survive a rally he looked destined to lose.

Whatever happened to him at this year’s Roland Garros, though, it was going to be better than what had—or hadn’t—happened to him here recently. After making the quarterfinals here in 2021, he had been forced to miss the clay Slam four straight times due to his many injuries.

“I was just telling myself I deserve to be here,” Berrettini said. “Even if I lost the match, obviously it would hurt a lot, but it would have been a great battle, so I’m thankful for that.”

“Francisco played an unbelievable match, he missed like two balls in five hours.”

Berrettini, it’s safe to say, was even more thankful for what happened next. Comesama chose that moment to miss another ball. With a chance to take control of the point, he ran around to smack a forehand…and sent it just long. The fans, who had brought a raucously tense atmosphere to Simonne-Mathieu, let out a giant sigh of relief.

I’m really proud of the work that I’ve done to come back and to feel good again. Matteo Berrettini

A couple of points later, at 14-13, Bxerrettini had his fifth match point, and the pattern repeated. Again the Italian was shaky, as he shanked a backhand high into the air. Again the Argentine couldn’t take advantage, sending another ball just over the baseline. Five years after his quarterfinal run here, Berrettini was back in the round of 16.

The final score was 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (13). They played 389 points. They both hit 20 aces. Berrettini made 70 winners and 80 errors. His average first-serve speed, over 5 hours and 13 minutes, was 126 m.p.h.

Afterward, he gave the crowd credit for getting him across the finish line.

“I’m just so happy, so tired,” he said. “Grateful for this incredible team, this unbelievable crowd, under the heat, under the sun, two sets to one down, we fought through this match, guys.”

Berrettini is 30 now, and ranked 105th. Once upon a time, not all that long ago, he looked like a future Grand Slam winner. But his list of career-stalling injuries—from his ab to his ankle to his hand to his foot—has turned out to be longer than his list of titles.

After all of that, with the exit of his countryman Jannik Sinner, Berrettini has a decent chance to make a Grand Slam final. For now, he’s happy just to be doing his job, and having the good health to go into battle.

“I just missed playing these kind of matches and enjoying these kind of matches,” he says. “I’m really proud of the work that I’ve done to come back and to feel good again.”