A beaming Matteo Berrettini said tennis is the “love of my life” after reaching a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time in almost four years.
The 30-year-old defeated Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerúndolo 6–3, 7–6 (7–2), 7–6 (8–6) to book his place in the last eight, joining two other Italians in the quarter-finals — the first time that has happened in the Open era, despite world number one Jannik Sinner exiting in the second round.
Flavio Cobolli, the 10th seed, overcame Zachary Svajda in four sets, while Matteo Arnaldi spent more than five hours on court to edge 19th seed Frances Tiafoe. Arnaldi, ranked world number 104, will now face Berrettini in his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final, guaranteeing at least one Italian — and one player ranked outside the top 100 — a place in the semi-finals.
Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon finalist, reached a career-high ranking of world number six in 2022 but has since dropped to 105th after a series of injuries and fitness setbacks.
“Tennis is the love of my life; if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here,” Berrettini said. “After all the setbacks, all the injuries, all the bad moments, I came back once again.
“There were moments where it was really tough to return and compete, because I wasn’t ready and I wasn’t sure about my confidence — now I feel great.”
Berrettini is now the lowest-ranked Roland Garros quarter-finalist since Igor Andreev in 2007.
