Novak Djokovic prepares to take on the “hammer of tennis” when he faces Italian star Matteo Berrettini in Wednesday night’s US Open quarterfinals.
Djokovic will play the sixth seed at a third consecutive Grand Slam tournament, after beating Berrettini in four sets in both the Wimbledon final and Roland Garros semifinals.
World No.1 Djokovic stands just three wins away from becoming the first man in 52 years to collect all four major trophies in a calendar year.
But in four sometimes scratchy wins to arrive at this point, he is yet to face a player in the world’s top 50, and understands Berrettini represents a significant step up in terms of calibre, confidence and weapons.
“Hammer of tennis,” Djokovic replied when asked to give his thoughts about the match-up. “Next to Del Potro, (Berrettini is) probably the hardest hitter of serve and forehand. He's got the lethal serve-plus-one game.
“He's already established as a top player, without a doubt. If he serves well, which is his biggest weapon, he's tough. He's tough on any surface to play against.
“I've had some really close matches with him in French Open and Wimbledon recently.
“Hopefully the result will be the same like the previous two.”
After holding off Jenson Brooksby in the last 16, Djokovic was interviewed on court by Brad Gilbert, who mentioned the upcoming quarterfinal against Berrettini – an announcement to which the crowd audibly reacted.
Their response made sense, given the reputation Berrettini continues to build in the sport.
The 25-year-old is through to the quarterfinal stage for the third time in a row at Grand Slams in 2021, and has returned to a happy hunting ground in Flushing Meadows, where he first broke through with his 2019 semifinal run.
Given the enormous pressure Djokovic is shouldering in his Grand Slam quest, the Serb could be more vulnerable to Berrettini’s barrage.
But Berrettini is yet to beat the Djokovic in any of their three career meetings, and like his next opponent he has surrendered sets in three of his four outings so far in New York.
However, with victories in 29 of his past 34 matches dating back to April, confidence is not lacking for the Italian.
“When you’re winning a lot of matches, it means that the work that I’ve done in the past years and months is working out,” Berrettini said after beating qualifier Oscar Otte on Monday.
“I’m here again, so I’m really happy. I’m through to the quarterfinals. I’m playing good, I’m feeling good.
“And hopefully it’s going to be a long run.”