Matteo Berrettini and grass court finals go together like strawberries and cream. This Sunday in Stuttgart, the resurgent Italian will compete in his sixth of the surface when he meets Jack Draper in the championship match at the BOSS Open.
Playing his first tournament since Monte Carlo, Berrettini has regained his form emphatically on grass courts—where his big serve and smart slices have confounded opponents all week long in Stuttgart.
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The two-time champion has dropped just one set across victories over No. 8 seed Roman Safiullin, Denis Shapovalov and James Duckworth en route to Saturday’s all-Italian semifinal with Lorenzo Musetti. The former Queens Club champion and 2021 Wimbledon runner-up recorded a 6-4, 6-0 win over Musetti to reach his second final of the year.
“When you win like this, it's better. You just burn less energy,” Berrettini told press after the match. “I think I played enough during the week…
“Obviously, it's never easy when you play against a good friend like Lorenzo. We know each other pretty well. Especially at the beginning, I think you could see there was a little bit of tension. But I was able to hold my nerves, especially when I served for the first set. And then after that I was feeling better and better.”