Berrettini in Paris Quarter-Final After 5 Years

A long-awaited comeback picture was completed on Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Monday afternoon. 30-year-old Matteo Berrettini, who came to Roland Garros 2026 with world ranking 105, passed Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo (world 56) 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(6) and advanced to his first Paris quarter-final since 2021. The final point of the 2-hour 32-minute match went down in history with an AI Commentary note: "Cerundolo's second serve at 135 km/h can't save him — Berrettini rips a forehand return wide and deep, unreturnable, and that's it! Berrettini wins the tiebreak and takes the match on Court Suzanne-Lenglen!"

Although the flow of the match seemed statistically balanced, Berrettini's pressure was decisive in every set. In the first set, the Italian caught the rhythm: he made the service game his cornerstone with 71 percent first serve rate (76/107) and 84 percent first serve winning percentage (64/76). While taking Set 1 6-3, Cerundolo's first serve accuracy remained at only 55 percent (51/93). Set 2 was balanced and went to a tiebreak; but Cerundolo could only get 2 points in the tiebreak — Berrettini secured the set with a clear 7-2 finish. The real drama happened in the third set.

Cerundolo adapted to the period in this set; he brought it to 6-6 in the tiebreak. The ball Berrettini directed to that "match point" moment with his forehand shot at 6-6 — Berrettini hit the ball wide and deep with a return from Cerundolo's forehand corner. He finished the tiebreak 8-6. The 16 aces and 19 winners Cerundolo hit throughout the night seemed small against Berrettini's 5 aces and fewer winners; but in critical moments, he didn't allow Berrettini's serve to break down.

Total statistics confirm this. Berrettini won 107 total points; Cerundolo 93 (Berrettini +14). According to shot length, a paragraph-by-paragraph table comes out: in 1-4-shot short rallies, Berrettini won 59 points, Cerundolo 40 (+19 Berrettini). So the Italian's "serve-forehand combo" is still dangerous. In 5-8-shot medium rallies, the situation reversed: Cerundolo 40, Berrettini 30 (+10 Cerundolo). In 9+ shot long rallies, Berrettini came forward again: 18 to 13 (+5). This shows that Cerundolo suddenly tired in long battle — which is not surprising, because the Argentine player had taken the field after Saturday's 5-hour 57-minute Landaluce match. That match was the third longest at Roland Garros since records began in 1996, and the longest since the fifth-set tiebreak system came in 2022.

Cerundolo's journey in this tournament was already extraordinary. In R1, he passed Jacob Fearnley 6-2, 7-6(0), 7-6(7). In R2, he made the biggest surprise of the tournament: he defeated number 1 seed and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1. Sinner had a cramp problem throughout the match, which didn't quite reduce the value of Cerundolo's victory: he won 18 of the last 18 games. In R3, in a historic 5-hour 57-minute match against Martin Landaluce, he came from 6-8 down in the final tiebreak and won the last 4 points with a great 7-6(8) finish. That is, throughout his journey to the 4th round, he had been on the court for 12 hours 28 minutes. Monday's 2 hours 32 minutes was nothing but tiring him more.

Looking from the Berrettini side, the story is more intense. In R1 he started by passing Marton Fucsovics 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-1, 6-2. In R2 he passed Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets. In R3 he experienced one of the tournament's biggest dramas: he won against Francisco Comesana 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(15-13). In this 5-hour 13-minute match, Berrettini saved two match points. So as he came to Monday, both players took the field much below their physical level, with Berrettini's morale-built advantage.

Berrettini's real story is the comeback narrative. He himself has narrated this in recent weeks with the words "Sometimes I thought I couldn't come back." Hand surgery, ankle injuries, years of doubt. After a 6-month injury in the second half of the 2025 season, he returned to the courts in March 2026. In April 2026, he won the Grand Prix Hassan II (ATP 250) in Marrakech — his first ATP title since 2022 Queen's. It was his 8th career title in total. He had entered the main draw with protected ranking. Boris Becker wrote "Well done Matteo" on Instagram at that time. Berrettini's ranking is dropping: in February 2026 he was 58, in May 100, now 105. The RG performance will of course increase his number; advancing to the 4th round alone is a serious comeback signal for Berrettini. When he advances to the 5th round, that is the quarter-final, the situation changes in a completely different way.

Looking from the Cerundolo side, the story is again a gain even in defeat. The 24-year-old Argentine, Buenos Aires-born left-handed player, lived the biggest Grand Slam performance of his career. He had never advanced to the 4th round in any Grand Slam before; his deepest result was R2 at 2025 RG. He has 1 title in total in ATP: 2021 Córdoba Open (he had won it as a qualifier — at that time he was the youngest Argentine ATP Challenger Tour champion in 12 years). He is currently world 56, his career highest ranking was 54 in May 2026. He passed the 2026 season with 20 wins 12 losses (62.5%). His brother Francisco Cerundolo was former world No. 19; there was always competition in tennis within the family. Monday's match may not be an ending for him, but actually a beginning.

The path in front of Berrettini is to face the winner between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alejandro Tabilo in the quarter-final. Auger-Aliassime is the tournament's 4th seed; in Monday night session he is still playing Tabilo. If Auger-Aliassime comes out, this challenge is a meaningful door for Berrettini: he has 1-1 H2H against the Canadian in his career. If he faces Tabilo, the clay-court danger of the left-handed Chilean is in front, but Berrettini's serve power could give him an advantage. Whichever opponent comes out, the quarter-final door is the first for Berrettini since 2021. If he reaches the semi-final, he will make a very big jump in the world rankings; he takes another step to return to his world-No.-6 days of May 2022.

To summarise in a paragraph: Berrettini didn't just win a match on Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Monday afternoon; he made a career statement. The fact that a player who has been through hand surgery, has come back from ankle injuries, has left behind the days he said "maybe I could never come back," advancing to his first Paris quarter-final since 2021, is a candidate to be one of the most beautiful comeback stories that modern tennis has seen in recent years. As Cerundolo's marathon journey leaves Paris, Berrettini returns as the golden boy of the sports city in Rome. The matches in front of him will be tough, but on this Monday afternoon, a new chapter of the story has definitely opened.

Image: oasport.it