“Matteo Berrettini Triumphs at EFG Swiss Open Gstaad Eyes Top 50 ATP Return”
Italian player will return to the top 50 in the PIF ATP rankings on Monday.
Matteo Berrettini wasted very little time on Sunday to clinch his ninth ATP Tour title at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad. The sixth-seeded player defeated Quentin Helis in just 59 minutes with a 6-3, 6-1 scoreline in the championship match of the clay-court ATP 250 event. A rain delay of 30 minutes didn’t deter Berrettini who secured the first break of the match when leading 5-3. Upon his return to the court, the Italian swiftly won six of the next seven games to claim his second trophy in the Swiss Alps.
“It feels incredible. It seems like just yesterday when I won my first title here six years ago, but a lot of matches and a lot of things have happened,” Berrettini said in his post-match interview. “I’m really happy that I can continue to play and enjoy, and I feel like I’ve found the energy of six years ago during this week. I’m very happy.”
This was Berrettini’s second ATP 250 title of the season, having previously won in Marrakech in April. The former world number 6 struggled with injuries and was out of the top 150 in the PIF ATP rankings for a challenging 12 months until March. Now with a 16-6 record for the 2024 season, he will return to the top 50 for the first time since August 2023.
Berrettini faced a solitary moment of danger in his third Gstaad Championship match when he had to save three break points at 2-3, 0/40 down in the opening set. As he often did during his run this week, the Italian found crucial serves when needed, breaking Helis’ serve early in the next game to ultimately tilt the match in his favor. According to Infosys ATP Stats, Berrettini ended his first H2H encounter against Helis by winning 90% of the points (26/29) after a rain delay benefitted him by leveling the playing field against the French player’s level.
“This was his first final, so definitely you can have a lot of thoughts in those moments, especially when you pause and you just break,” Berrettini said. “I struggled to grasp the game amidst vastly altered circumstances throughout the week.”Every day was different. It was really windy, then a little bit humid, and today it was really cold and drizzling. I wasn’t able to break from 0/40, and I think since then I found the right energy. I think when we paused, I came back to the court and found the right [rhythm].”
Atptour: https://www.atptour.com/