ATP Tour

Berrettini ends Wawrinka's Wimbledon career with gripping 4-hour win

Stan Wawrinka bade farewell to Wimbledon in memorable fashion on Tuesday night, soaking in the applause from the No. 1 Court crowd after Matteo Berrettini defeated the 41-year-old across four thrilling sets.

Berrettini, the former No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings and 2021 finalist at the All England Club, rallied for a gutsy 6-7(7), 7-6(16), 7-6(7), 7-6(5) victory in the first round of the grass-court major. Three-time Grand Slam titlist Wawrinka, who is retiring at the end of the season, put on a show for those in attendance, but Berrettini proved too formidable an opponent after four hours, 19 minutes of battle.

“He’s a legend and he showed it today,” Berrettini said of Wawrinka, the former World No. 3. “Unbelievable player, unbelievable competitor. I remember in 2014, I was playing the juniors here and I snuck into Centre Court, he was playing against Roger [Federer]. It was a big honour to play against him here, on Court 1. I feel so honoured, so grateful.”

In a nerve-jangling contest that featured rock-solid serving from both men, Berrettini let out a mighty roar after winning an absorbing second-set tie-break — in which he saved six set points — to halt the Swiss wild card’s momentum. The roof was then closed on No. 1 Court, allowing for an even greater atmosphere in the final match of the day.

Wawrinka knows all too well what it’s like to play under a closed roof at Wimbledon. The Swiss was one of the first men to play in such conditions when Centre Court debuted its new retractable roof in 2009. Wawrinka fell to Andy Murray in a five-set tussle under the roof that year and, even though his clash with Berrettini was on No. 1 Court, it ended in a similar manner for the veteran.

With the crowd rising to its feet after almost every point that Wawrinka won in the dying embers of the fourth set, there was hope that it may not be his final appearance in southwest London. Yet amid the raucous atmosphere, Berrettini held firm and once again underlined his experience and ability under pressure to close out a brave win.

Berrettini, who is competing for the first time since his resurgent run to the Roland Garros quarter-finals, won 86 per cent (100/116) of first-serve points against Wawrinka in a tight battle. After moving to 1-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Wawrinka, the 30-year-old Italian set a second-round clash with the exciting 22-year-old Arthur Fils.