Matteo Berrettini shocks Zverev for biggest win of his career in Monte-Carlo

Matteo Berrettini stunned World No. 2 Alexander Zverev 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of the ongoing Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Tuesday. The Italian brought his best to the court against the top-seed and earned the biggest win of his career in the recent past.

Berrettini revealed he changed his attitude for the match and had more belief in his shots against the German. With this win, Berrettini improved to 3-4 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Zverev.

“The game plan was the same but I changed my attitude and the way I was believing in my strokes,” said Berrettini, who won 14 of 15 first-serve points in the second set, according to Infosys ATP Stats. 

“I wasn’t hitting my forehand and serve like I had in previous days and I had to adapt and adjust to the conditions and Sascha was playing unbelievable, so it was not easy. Then I told myself to be more aggressive and if I am going to lose this match, I am going to do the right things and luckily it worked.”

Berrettini has a solid record on clay, winning 17 out of his 18 games on the surface. The Italian said it was tough for him to miss Roland Garros due to injury.

“I grew up on clay, playing on it until 19,” Berrettini said. “On Tour we don’t play on it as much but at the same time I have missed the biggest tournament on clay for the past three years and that was tough and now I want to enjoy it. I feel really comfortable on clay.”

Berrettini will next play either Jiri Lehecka or compatriot Lorenzo Musetti in the third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters.