Stuttgart Open: Berrettini beats Shapovalov to advance into quarter-finals

Matteo Berrettini moved into the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open by beating Canadian wildcard Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-4 at Tennisclub Weissenhof Stuttgart.

The Italian has made an impressive return to the surface where he most flourishes, having achieved his best results on grass courts.

Berrettini won this tournament two years before defending his title at Queen’s a week later, but was ruled out of Wimbledon due to a positive Covid test.

Having reached the final at the All England Club in 2021, Berrettini then returned last year before falling to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round.

He was in fine form again in Stuttgart today, with his powerful serve remaining unbroken by the talented Canadian, who is also an adept grass-courter.

A single break in each set without reply was enough for Berrettini to seal an impressive win as he looks to rebuild a good run of form ahead of Wimbledon after a difficult year punctuated by injury.

Berrettini, ranked No 95, will play the winner of the match between Australian qualifier James Duckworth and American Ben Shelton, the second seed, next.

In the previous round of the Stuttgart tournament, the Italian edged out Russian Roman Safiullin, the No 8 seed (7-6 (8), 5-7, 7-5).

Shapovalov, ranked No 117, won against French qualifier Matteo Martineau (7-6 (5), 7-5) during the first round of the Stuttgart tournament.

Stuttgart ATP 250, other second-round results (Tennisclub Weissenhof Stuttgart, grass, EUR 734.915, most recent results first):

• James Duckworth vs. Ben Shelton
• Jan-Lennard Struff (7) beat Arthur Rinderknech: 6-4, 7-6
• Brandon Nakashima beat Richard Gasquet (LL): 6-3, 6-4
• Jack Draper (6) beat Marcos Giron: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
• Alexander Bublik (3) beat Hamad Medjedovic (WC): 6-1, 7-6 (4)
• Frances Tiafoe (4) beat Yannick Hanfmann: 7-5, 7-6 (5)
• Lorenzo Musetti (5) beat Dominik Koepfer: 6-7 (9), 7-6 (5), 6-3