Altmaier Upsets Berrettini In Biggest Career Win

Qualifier and World No. 186 Daniel Altmaier played with great assurance on Saturday to record the biggest win of his career for a place in the Roland Garros fourth round.

The 22-year-old German looked unfazed as he outclassed seventh-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-4 in two hours and 15 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier to become just the fourth qualifier since 2000 to reach the Last 16 of a Grand Slam championship.

“It’s my first time on this court and playing in Paris, I’m delighted to be in the fourth round,” said Altmaier, in an on-court interview with Fabrice Santoro. “My coach and I have been working so hard to be here, and while I’ve struggled with a few injuries, I am super-pleased it’s at Roland Garros. Before qualifying, I was struggling with an injury, so I wasn’t sure I was going to play. I hope the crowd and the TV audience enjoyed watching, as I want to entertain.”

Altmaier follows in the footsteps of fellow qualifiers Hyung-Taik Lee (2000 US Open), David Goffin (2012 Roland Garros) and Juan Ignacio Londero (2019 Roland Garros) to have reached the second week of a major championship.

Altmaier, who has beaten Feliciano Lopez and No. 30 seed Jan-Lennard Struff on his Roland Garros debut this week, will now play a Spaniard: No. 10 seed Roberto Bautista Agut, one of the most consistent players on the ATP Tour, or No. 17 seed Pablo Carreno Busta, the recent US Open semi-finalist.

Altmaier won the first three games and broke Berrettini’s serve for a second time to clinch the 32-minute opener. Berrettini, who also reached the Roland Garros third round in 2018, regrouped to break early in the second set, and served for it at 5-3. Altmaier recovered to 6-5, before Berrettini came back from 0/30 for a tie-break.

Altmaier, showcasing outstanding court coverage and an eagerness to move up the court, converted his second set point at 6/5 in the tie-break when the German hit an unreturned serve. Altmaier saved one break point at 0-1 in the fourth set and fought back from 15/40 at 1-2, prior to breaking Berrettini to love for a 4-2 advantage. Ultimately, he closed out for a memorable win, with a hold to 30, when Berrettini hit a forehand wide.

Berrettini, 24, is now 9-5 on the 2020 season, with his best result coming at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, when he advanced to the quarter-finals (l. to Ruud).

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2GfHvXI