ATP Budapest: Matteo Berrettini tops Filip Krajinovic for second ATP crown
After a breakthrough run in 2018, the 23-year-old Italian Matteo Berrettini was off to a slow start in 2019, winning six out of 15 ATP matches and making no progress on the ATP rankings list. That has all changed this week in Budapest, with Matteo defeating Mikhail Kukushkin, Aljaz Bedene, Pablo Cuevas, Laslo Djere to reach the final, the second in a career after Gstaad last year. In the title match, Berrettini overpowered Filip Krajinovic 4-6 6-3, 6-1, dominating in sets two and three to cross the finish line in an hour and 41 minutes for the second ATP crown and the place in the top-40 for the first time in a career.
Both players delivered a stellar performance in the semis and we expected a close battle in their first meeting on the Tour, trading the opening two sets before Berrettini took charge in the decider to break Krajinovic's resistance and lift the trophy. Unleashing fury from the initial shot, Matteo lost 12 points in 13 service games, suffering one break that cost him the opening set but never looking back after that, dropping seven points in his games by the end of the match and keeping the pressure on Filip all the time. The Serb made a promising start but there was all we saw from him, shutting out his engines as the match progressed and getting broken four times overall from ten chances offered to Berrettini.
Krajinovic saved a break point in the second game and we saw six commanding holds after that, with Matteo serving at 4-4. Out of sudden, he played a loose service game to hand the break to Filip who sealed the opener with a hold at 15 a few minutes later for a 6-4. With no room for errors, Matteo took charge in set number two, rattling off one comfortable hold after another and securing a break in game six to move 4-2 up, wasting two set points in the eighth game before firing three winners on own serve for a 6-3 and the momentum ahead of the deciding set.
The Italian never looked back, dropping two points on serve in set number three and securing three breaks for a 6-1, moving over the top after a forehand error from Filip in that seventh game to start a well-deserved celebration.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2ULzs5R
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