MATCH POINT: Matteo Berrettini stuns Alexander Zverev in Monte Carlo second round

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It’s been a strong start to the season for Matteo Berrettini, already reaching three quarterfinals—at back-to-back ATP 500s in Doha and Dubai and at the Masters 1000 event in Miami.

He’s already had two Top 10 wins, too, beating Novak Djokovic for the first time in Doha then Alexander Zverev in Monte Carlo, which happened to be his first career win over a Top 2 player.

And in Madrid on Saturday, the hits kept coming.

Berrettini battled to the milestone 200th win of his career with a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6), 6-1 victory over American Marcos Giron in his opening match at the Masters 1000 clay-court event.

He’s just the eighth Italian man in the Open Era to reach 200 career wins, and of that group he has the second-best winning percentage, at .654 (200-106). Only Jannik Sinner has a better winning percentage among them, at .771 (270-80).

Berrettini and Sinner are also the only two Italian men born in 1990 or later to reach 200 career wins—they were born in 1996 and 2001.

ITALIAN MEN WITH 200+ WINS IN OPEN ERA (tour-level):

  • 426: Fabio Fognini [426-392]
  • 395: Adriano Panatta [395-247]
  • 386: Andreas Seppi [386-422]
  • 320: Corrado Barazzutti [320-231]
  • 270: Jannik Sinner [270-80]
  • 223: Renzo Furlan [223-239]
  • 219: Andrea Gaudenzi [219-231]
  • 200: Matteo Berrettini [200-106]
Berrettini has only played Madrid once before, in 2021, and he made the final, falling to Zverev.

Berrettini has only played Madrid once before, in 2021, and he made the final, falling to Zverev.

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Berrettini's milestone win almost didn't happen, though.

Giron had won the pair's only two previous meetings, at Paris in 2020 and Halle in 2024, and he was on the verge of making it three in a row Saturday, as he was two points away from winning three separate times in the second set—twice with Berrettini serving 5-6, at 30-all and deuce, and then again at 6-all in the tie-break.

But the Italian snuck out the second set then rolled through the decider, opening up a 5-0 lead and serving it out two games later.

He finished the match with 47 winners—including 28 off the forehand, as well as 14 aces—to just 27 unforced errors.

Awaiting the No. 30 seed in the third round will be No. 5 seed Jack Draper, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Tallon Griekspoor.

Draper has beaten Berrettini in both of their previous meetings, coming back from a set down both times, in the final of Stuttgart last year on grass (3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4) and in the quarterfinals of Doha earlier this year on hard courts (4-6, 6-4, 6-3).