Berrettini turns years of injury into a Wimbledon revival with win over Fils

Italian Matteo Berrettini reached the third round of Wimbledon for the first time in three years on Thursday afternoon, beating French 20th seed Arthur Fils 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to continue a resurgent run at the tournament where he once reached the final.

The world No 51, whose recent seasons have been repeatedly interrupted by injury, produced the more powerful and composed tennis for three of the four sets. He took the opening two, was pegged back when Fils claimed the third, then reasserted himself in the fourth to close out a win that extended one of the more heartening stories of the fortnight.

It followed a first-round epic in which Berrettini saved six set points to see off Swiss great Stan Wawrinka across four tie-breaks, in what was Wawrinka’s farewell to the tournament – two matches that have given the Italian a platform he has rarely enjoyed at a major of late.

Berrettini was open about how much the run meant after years in the wilderness. “So much confidence,” he said after the match, asked what the two wins had given him. “It’s been a while since I’ve played so many matches in Slams.

Here at Wimbledon four years ago was one of the toughest decisions of my life.

Of course there were bad moments, but so far I think my career has been great – I can’t complain.” He alluded to a difficult chapter at the All England Club without dwelling on its detail. “Here at Wimbledon four years ago was one of the toughest decisions of my life,” he said.

Berrettini pulled out of Wimbledon 2022 hours before his first-round match against Cristian Garin after testing positive for Covid-19. He was the eighth seed and the previous year’s runner-up, considered a title contender having gone 9-0 on grass at Stuttgart and Queen’s that month, and called himself “heartbroken.”

But I’m here, I’m back, and I’m smiling when I’m playing. It’s a great honour and privilege to play here.”

Fils, ranked No 24, had reached the second round with a straight-sets win over Belgian Raphael Collignon (7-5, 6-1, 6-3) for his first match since his brutal retirement in Rome.

Berrettini will next face either Czech 15th seed Jakub Mensik or Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the fourth round.