Matteo Berrettini
PROS: “Berrettini has arguably the biggest serve and forehand combo in the game,” says Mayer. This formidable one-two punch goes back to its first exponent, legendary 1920s American champion Bill Tilden. Superstar Ivan Lendl (19■0s), former No. 1s Jim Courier (1990s) and Andy Roddick (2000s), and 2009 US Open winner Juan Martin del Potro also parlayed these two killer strokes effectively. This combination also carried Berrettini to the 2021 Wimbledon final. His most impressive stat is a No. 3 Under Pressure rating.
CONS: The 25-year-old Italian’s backhand, however, is weaker than those of the aforementioned players. His two-handed backhand is erratic, and his one-handed slice lacks penetration. Berrettini tries his utmost to “run around” to hit as many forehands as possible, sometimes from untenable positions. But this manoeuvre works only to some extent because of his second liability — only average movement. His career-high No. 7 ranking this year was misleading as he scored just one win over a top 10-opponent, a rusty Thiem, back in February. The young sluggers will likely punish Berrettini’s backhand mercilessly as Alcaraz did at the Vienna Open in October.