Berrettini wins a final proposal
ITALIAN heart-throb Matteo Berrettini played his way into the tennis record books by reaching the final at Queen’s again and won an unexpected marriage proposal along the way.
Berrettini had to be at his best to beat Dutch world No 29 Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-3 in a rain-interrupted semi-final. He now defends his title against Serb outsider Filip Krajinovic.
Berrettini lost in last year’s Wimbledon final to Krajinovic’s better known countryman Novak Djokovic and once again looks the biggest threat to the status quo.
Today he can scoop the £341,890 winner’s prize as he marks a fourth consecutive grass-court tournament final, a feat matched by only Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray of active players.
‘I didn’t know that,’ Berrettini smiled afterwards. ‘I can’t compare myself to those three players, but I’m trying to learn from them and hopefully one day I’m going to beat them.’
To beat ‘them’ would mean getting to the Wimbledon final again in July.
Meanwhile, his swashbuckling style and dashing good looks continue to earn the athletic 6ft 5in star admirers on and off the court. ‘Will you marry me?’ shouted one fan from the crowd as he celebrated victory.
‘Let me think about it,’ replied the 26-year-old, who was dating Croatian tennis player Ajla Tomljanovic at Wimbledon last year.
‘It feels unbelievable to be back in the final,’ he added. ‘It was tough serving in the wind too, but I played my best match of the week.’
Conditions in west London were 15 degrees colder than Friday’s heatwave and Berrettini joked it felt like going from Rome to London in a day.
Today’s opponent Krajinovic, who defeated two-time Queen’s winner Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3, had never won a match on grass before his impressive run this week, which included a narrow quarter-final win over British wildcard entry Ryan Peniston. Krajinovic, 30, has lost in the first round on his four previous visits to Wimbledon. ‘To be honest I do not like to play on grass so I find a way to skip the tournaments.
‘So it is amazing to be playing in a final here. I have nothing to lose and will give my best.’