Matteo wins in two sets, 7-6, 6-3. He’ll face Tien: “If I beat him, I’ll have passed a good test”

Matteo Berrettini sends a clear message: he’s ready for the Davis Cup. He was decisive in 2024, and he wants to be just as decisive in 2025. He builds on the positive momentum from his season opener by reaching the quarterfinals in Metz (ATP 250) with a strong victory, 7-6 (5), 6-3, over Aleksandar Vukic. It wasn’t an easy match on paper, against a solid opponent with a consistent serve, but the Italian managed it as he does on his best days. Powerful with his forehand and shrewd in using his backhand slice to take the Australian off balance, Matteo “only needed” to raise his level in the first-set tiebreak and secure a break in the second, aided significantly by 15 aces. This marks his fifth quarterfinal appearance in 2025—his second consecutive tournament after Vienna—and firmly establishes him as a strong candidate for the role of second singles player at the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna.

Matteo got off to a blistering start: a break in the first game and an immediate feel for his forehand. Vukic, however, thrives on fast courts, also blessed with long limbs and a strong serve. He quickly broke back and forced Berrettini into a tiebreak. The former No. 6 in the ATP rankings even found himself down 5-3, but he drew on his greater experience in these types of matches to raise his level when needed and, with a few lucky net shots that just grazed the net, strung together four consecutive points to take the first set. In the second set, the pattern was very similar, and until 4-3, both players’ serves dominated the action. Matteo saved a break point at 2-2 with an ace, then broke serve in the eighth game by mixing backhands—both returns and slices. Closing out the set to love shortly after was a formality. It was a decisive victory that sends him to the quarterfinals against Learner Tien. They’ll play on Thursday, November 6, as the final match of the day, at approximately 8:15 p.m. “Tien is one of the best talents out there,” Berrettini said in his post-match interview, “he plays very well. I’ll be facing him for the first time; maybe the crowd will enjoy it. It’s a fairly fast surface; I didn’t play my best tennis today, but I raised my level when it mattered. If I beat Tien, I’ll have passed a great test, because he’s playing very well.”