Photo : Swiss Open Gstaad/@meierhansfotografie
Félix Auger-Aliassime got the clay back under his feet this week but could not find a way past Matteo Berrettini on Friday in the Gstaad quarter-finals, falling to the Italian in straight sets.
After a first-round loss at Wimbledon, the Canadian was back on clay looking to get re-acclimated ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which begins in a week’s time.
There was little between the two big servers on the Swiss dirt on Friday, with chances to break few and far between. In the end, Berrettini was able to play a bit better in the tiebreaks to advance with a 7-6(7), 7-6(2) win.
The match was decided by just a few points in the breakers. Statistically, the pair were incredibly tight with the same number of aces, nearly identical winner-to-error counts (18 to 15 for Auger-Aliassime, 16 to 16 for Berrettini), and saved every break point they faced. They even both won 58 points on their own serve, although the Italian won five more points on return.
In a first set largely dominated by serve, the closest calls came in back-to-back games midway through the opener.
First at 2-2, Berrettini took advantage of some poor play from the Canadian to hold four break points. But each time, Auger-Aliassime managed to find the shot he needed, including three big serves, to escape the threat. In the very next game, the Canadian had a look at love-40 but missed all three, including two returns, and Berrettini held.
Those were the only break points in the match.
The tiebreak was full of nervy errors from both men but it was Berrettini keeping himself in front. The Italian never trailed and benefitted from a poor forehand from Auger-Aliassime that clipped the tape on his third set point to wrap up the opener.
Set two was even more serve-dominated, with neither player holding a break point and only one game going to deuce.
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Unlike the first set, the tiebreak was not close. Berrettini came out firing, racing out to a 5-0 lead. He had five match points up 6-1 and he converted his second with a big serve to advance to the semifinals.
Gstaad was Auger-Aliassime’s first quarter-final since reaching the Madrid final in May. In his opening match, the Canadian defeated Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets. He now heads to Paris for the Olympics, where play will begin on Saturday, July 27.
