TENNIS: Mostly Queen's
Jun. 21st, 2022 07:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feather_ghyllI did follow the women’s closing matches at Nottingham.
But to Queen’s, where there’s a 32-player draw. I started watching the coverage, and they had a nice little feature about the headlines of the tennis year so far, and then moved on to discuss the whole banning of Russian and Belarussian players and the lack of points at Wimbledon (although I suppose it will still count in as a Grand Slam, glorified exhibition or no?) and Sue Barker asked the experts to opine. And Andrew Castle did – granted, I hadn’t known his family had Ukrainian refugees staying with them and that certainly would colour your views, but he’s still Andrew Castle and there was windbaggery, and I kind of saw Peter Flemyng’s point, because yes, there’s hypocrisy and nuance, and the Brits in the studio didn’t acknowledge that the LTA is following the UK Government’s lead, although that’s probably supported by the UK population, but I didn’t agree with the equivalences he was trying to make, so I stopped watching that.
First round – day 1
Because of how I watched the programme - I would later go through the sports category - I couldn’t pause, and could only start watching from certain times, not when certain matches started. I might have made different choices otherwise.
But I started watching the Norrie vs Dimitrov match at 5-5 in the first set. It seemed as though both had ‘managed’ their serve’ and were evenly matched in the next two games. I was supporting Norrie – he’s left handed, he has a Welsh parent – so I was glad to see Norrie impose himself on the tie break and win it convincingly.
However, all due respect to Dimitrov in the second for rethinking his play and upping the aggression, most obviously in his serve. He blew Norrie away. One set all and Norrie was making it closer in the third, until he failed to convert break points, while Dimitrov remained aggressive enough, and reminded us of why he’s won this tournament in the past.
Marin Cilic faced Liam Broady coming off his great, unexpected run at the French Open, and in the first set, he just had too much against someone who’s ranking doesn’t give them automatic entry into the slams. To his credit, Broady dug in and won his first two service games in the second, but Cilic broke and that should have been it. Except the Croat imploded – wasn’t it three double faults in the breakback game? And Broady won the second set. I fast forwarded through the third set, because I still thought Cilic would win – and he did, his serve was much better in the third set, but he didn’t half make it more difficult for himself than he needed to. Low-level entertainment was provided by comentators Peter Flemyng and Andrew Cotter teasing each other; I thought the French Open BBC radio commentators were more informed and informative.
Day 2
I’m conflating two things Andrew Castle said, but he did say them quite close to each other. Yes, nothing takes my mind off the cost-of-living crisis (as someone who isn’t self-disconnecting my electricity, though) as watching a lady drink champagne before lunch. WAS SHE EASTING CAKE TOO?
Ahem.
I watched some of the Querry vs. Schwartzmann match, with judicious fastforwarding after Schwartzmann went down a double break in the first. For all that Querry, a former champion (years and years ago) had had to qualify and the Argentine was a seed (who had reached the quarter finals at Queen’s before), the American just had too many weapons, and while he broke later in the second set, it seemed comfortable. I then watched bits of the Penniston vs Ruud match, and basically, Ruud has not come to terms with grass yet. Still, credit to the his opponent, who is lower ranked than Broady and had never played in an ATP Tour match before, for keeping it close, remaining positive after not converting several break points in the first and playing well to win the two tiebreaks. I mean, catching a French Open finalist when they’ve just switched to a surface they’re less confident on is an one’s likeliest time to beat a top 5 player, but..lhe beat a top 5 player. Maybe Ruud and Schwartzmann could pair up to play doubles at Wimbledon?
The match of the day, if not the result of the day (that would be in the previous match, was always going to be Berrettini vs Evans, and I was able to watch all of it bar a couple of serves that caught me unawares, puttering away in the kitchen. The two winners on grass last week, two contrasting styles…but it was soon clear that Berrettini’s big serve (once they started getting the speeds it was ridiculous, and I don’t know what his ace count ended up, as his biggest weapon was on song. Evans had more finesse, though, better volleys, cleverness. There were entertaining rallies, when there were rallies. Granted, Evans lost his last game of the first set and his last game in the second on a double fault, which is disappointing, but all credit to Berrettini, it wasn’t just his serve that won him the match. The last two games were lengthy, hotly contested affairs, with many, many deuces, but Berrettini won both, and absolutely looked like the defending champion and the top seed standing.
He’s come back from hand injury just in time for the grass court season, and there’s a sense of a man rediscovering how much he loves this surface about him. If you can’t tell, I was supporting him because he’s in the conversation for Wimbledon, his play is so positive, and he’d backed up his results to be a top 10 player and higher than that on grass. It doesn’t hurt that he’s good looking.
Second round – day 3
I watched bits, mainly the ends of the sets, of the first two televised matches: Davydych-Fokina playing de Minaur had some spectacular rallies towards the end. The Dutch no. 1 beat Dimitrov, so those two would play each other next.
I watched nearly all of Jack Draper (how young is he?) against Emil Very Finnish Name, although it quickly became apparent that the latter was stronger and better in most departments. At least Draper got on the board in his second service game after being outclassed in the first three games. He seemed composed, but if I were the Finn, I would be riled that I was in the sixties with my ranking and had had to qualify, while this young kid on the other side of the net was someone just in the top 100 who’d got a wildcard. Ranking and experience showed, and for all their desire to play favourites, Castle and Lloyd had to appreciate the tennis.
Draper kept his serve throughout the second set, despite coming under far more pressure than he managed when returning. But big first serves and a few inspired points aside, he just couldn’t match his opponent.
I then watched some of Cilic versus Bublik – Bublik was up 5-0 in the tiebreak and let that lead dissipate. By the end of the second set, it was obvious that Bublik had gone rogue, while Cilic remained a (nervy) pro, ultimately winning to face the Finn.
Second round – day 4
I mostly fast-forwarded through the first match. Wawrinka hasn’t come back to his best at this stage of his comeback from injury was my main takeout, and I didn’t get a feel for his opponent’s play.
I was busier that evening, so I only watched the next match and that was in fits and starts.
There was something delicious about the match up: Kudla (who had beaten Murray in Surbiton) was there as a lucky loser who’d won his first round now facing Berrettini (who had also beaten Murray in Stuttgard, although who knows how much Murray’s ab injury had to do with it.) In fairness, the no. 2 seed is not having the kindest draw: why can’t he play people who don’t know how to play on grass?
In part because Kudla (American, but born in Kiyv, huh) can and has been doing well on the green stuff this year, but also he’d come up with a good game plan: play aggressively enough to harry Berrettini, the Italian didn’t get off to a good start. His first serve just wasn’t there, the foundation of his game, granter of quick points, and some of his play in the first set was abysmal. Kudla was better.
It seemed like Berrettini reset a little at the start of the second set, but although there were break points for both, no-one could take them, and momentum was shifting the Italian’s way, he seemed to tighten up his game, made fewer errors, but let Kudla make errors instead, and Berrettini’s first serve was a huge factor in his winning the second set tiebreak.
I had to fast forward through the third, so I didn’t get a feel for it: there were breaks, break backs and there was one terrible, terrible volley from Berrettini, whose game was not the best, but he fought, and for all the reasons he’s in the top 10 and Kudla has never made the top 50, he was the victor. Just.
Quarter finals – day 5
I was able to pick and choose, so I fast forwarded through the first match. It seemed to me as if the Dutchman was less bad than the Spaniard.
But I did watch the second QF between Berrettini and American Tommy Paul (who Castle kept calling Tommy Ball). It was only then that I really grasped that Paul had been the one to beat Shapavalov. Would he, a decent decent American player – though they don’t seem to have a top-flight male player right now - be able to employ the tactics that Kudla had against Berrettini?
It seemed as if the same, flat Berrettini from that match had turned up, although Castle posited that serving into the sun was his problem. So, the lower ranked player was up 3-0, but when Berrettini stepped up to serve again, he seemed to be the server that he generally is, and ever so gradually, he improved, while Paul…did not. In fact, he lost his serve on a double fault, letting Berrettini serve for the first set, and the next time Paul served, he double-faulted again. It seemed like his level dropped in the second set, making it easier for Berrettini, whose shot speed improved, who got to hit some of his big shots and won the second comfortably
I dipped in and out of last Brit standing Ryan Penniston against the number 3 Serbian player (I couldn’t have told you who their no. 2 was either). Penniston won the first and created some more break points in the second set, but apart from some good aggressive shots, it wasn’t enough, and I started napping (it was really hot) and despite not having a great volley for someone who was willing to serve or volley, the Serbian won in the third.
I went for a walk and, refreshed, sat down for the more interesting match, the up-and-coming Finn, Ruusuvuori against Cilic. It soon became clear that Cilic was making his opponent look callow in terms of shot selection. Cilic was really good, or at least for a set and a half, serving, striking and moving with authority, emphasising his experience here and at Grand Slams (that record makes him the eighth best player these days, and Federer has gone walkabout – is he even going to turn up at Wimbledon? Wawrinka, Thiem and Murray are trying to find their way back, from injury.)
Ruusuvuori’s soundness was evident, but this was his first big test, and as Flemyng observed, he’s now learned he needs to work on his serve and his defence to progress. Cilic needs to work on his nerves, though, because as the finish line approached, his nerves got in his way and it was suddenly a struggle.
At this point, I expected Berrettini and Cilic to make it through the semis, if they played close to how they played in the quarters, although I guess you’d prefer to be Berrettini, starting off poorly and then improving, than starting off sharp and weakening towards the end. Should be noted that Cilic’s outfit was my favourite. It hadn’t occurred to me that he was wearing the colours of the Croation flag until a commentator pointed it out, but I liked the effect of the colours bleeding into each other. Berrettini looked good in his probably black outfit, although you wouldn’t have blamed him for not wearing it on the hot Friday.
Semi-finals – day 6
The weather and conditions were transformed. We were warned it would be an on-off day for rain, although as it turned out, it wasn’t so bad. The first semi was delayed and there was one terribly timed rain interruption, but, really, we got a lot of uninterrupted play.
We were regaled with how Botic van de Zandschulp had flown up the rankings about 120 places in a year and was now just in the top 30. It started off closely, but Berrettini was more like the player of the last match than the one before, and managed the conditions better. His Dutch opponent was less assured about his movement – he was the one who had the most slips, but when he complained about the noise (which the microphone wasn’t picking up, and I’ve heard way noisier crowds at Queen’s,) it was clear that he was letting the conditions get to him, while Berrettini was coming into the net a lot and judging what he needed to do better. Granted, he got nervous serving for the first set, but broke again to win the set, and he’d had a lot of break points, and although the rain crowd-assisted rain delay was at an unfortunate break point, there were a lot of break points in the second too, and Berrettini did not have a problem serving it out to get through to his second final on grass after his injury and his second final here.
I settled down for Cilic against the Serbian, who I hadn’t seen much of, and it seemed a more competitive semi, until Cilic had a torrid service game, a mix of his own mistakes – his serve just wasn’t there – and his opponent putting pressure on him when he had a play on the ball. He kept solid and won the first, but soon broke Cilic in the second (I admit I dozed for a few games here) and it did not look as if Cilic could compose himself to fight back. I roused to see him force the Serb to serve it out, which he did. He had a high percentage of first serves in in the first set, and Cilic didn’t seem able to make him pay for serve and volleying a lot. From the interview, it sounds as if Krajinovic isn’t putting any pressure on himself, which is the right attitude, and why should he? This is all rather remarkable, given that he’d never won on grass before this tournament, despite a decade on the tour.
Finals – day 7
John Lloyd was making a big deal of Berrettini’s break point conversion rate not being high, so that was ringing in our minds as the Italian faced the surprise Serb. And it seemed pertinent as Berretini was up 0-40 in the first game, having elected to return, but his opponent found a way to win the break points on his serve, as he’d done all week. It soon became clear it’d be an entertaining match, with both players willing to come to the net. Berrettini was doing better on his return games and broke first, but could not consolidate it. Back to level terms, but at 5-5 Berrettini’s intensity got him another break, and he was determined to serve it out. His serve wasn’t quite as dominant as you might have expected, perhaps conditions weren’t favourable.
But having gee-ed himself up to win the first set, he remained aggressive in the second, and as the commentators picked up on, he just had too much firepower for Krajinovic: the serve was better, that forehand either was a winner or allowed his next shot to be one, and his backhand slice did some damage as well as some of his net play, because even if the Serb was good at anticipating, he wasn’t always able to produce a good shot when he got there. After getting himself into a position to serve out the match, at 30-30, Berrettini found two very good serves to win in two.
The crowd cheered – possibly louder because he was defending champion and not playing a Brit. Yes, he’s got movie star looks, but there’s something very engaging about the way he plays. He speaks well – idiomatically good English, and plaudits for whoever told him to go and say nice things to Sue Barker at her last Queen’s – I don’t recall a second interview like that after someone’s gone around with the big trophy before.
On reflection, it’s very impressive that Berrettini came back from finger/hand surgery to win two back-to-back grass tournaments. He talked about learning from last year and working on his slice (noticeable) and return (in hindsight, yes. He must have been pleased that he won against Kudla in three when his play was flat, and he’s outclassed or outpowered everyone at Queen’s. After being off for the clay-court season is back in contention for Wimbledon.
Eastbourne wasn’t available on iPlayer when I looked last evening, which might have been quite early for it to be up, but I didn’t look again later.
[Edited for typos 26/2/25.]
But to Queen’s, where there’s a 32-player draw. I started watching the coverage, and they had a nice little feature about the headlines of the tennis year so far, and then moved on to discuss the whole banning of Russian and Belarussian players and the lack of points at Wimbledon (although I suppose it will still count in as a Grand Slam, glorified exhibition or no?) and Sue Barker asked the experts to opine. And Andrew Castle did – granted, I hadn’t known his family had Ukrainian refugees staying with them and that certainly would colour your views, but he’s still Andrew Castle and there was windbaggery, and I kind of saw Peter Flemyng’s point, because yes, there’s hypocrisy and nuance, and the Brits in the studio didn’t acknowledge that the LTA is following the UK Government’s lead, although that’s probably supported by the UK population, but I didn’t agree with the equivalences he was trying to make, so I stopped watching that.
First round – day 1
Because of how I watched the programme - I would later go through the sports category - I couldn’t pause, and could only start watching from certain times, not when certain matches started. I might have made different choices otherwise.
But I started watching the Norrie vs Dimitrov match at 5-5 in the first set. It seemed as though both had ‘managed’ their serve’ and were evenly matched in the next two games. I was supporting Norrie – he’s left handed, he has a Welsh parent – so I was glad to see Norrie impose himself on the tie break and win it convincingly.
However, all due respect to Dimitrov in the second for rethinking his play and upping the aggression, most obviously in his serve. He blew Norrie away. One set all and Norrie was making it closer in the third, until he failed to convert break points, while Dimitrov remained aggressive enough, and reminded us of why he’s won this tournament in the past.
Marin Cilic faced Liam Broady coming off his great, unexpected run at the French Open, and in the first set, he just had too much against someone who’s ranking doesn’t give them automatic entry into the slams. To his credit, Broady dug in and won his first two service games in the second, but Cilic broke and that should have been it. Except the Croat imploded – wasn’t it three double faults in the breakback game? And Broady won the second set. I fast forwarded through the third set, because I still thought Cilic would win – and he did, his serve was much better in the third set, but he didn’t half make it more difficult for himself than he needed to. Low-level entertainment was provided by comentators Peter Flemyng and Andrew Cotter teasing each other; I thought the French Open BBC radio commentators were more informed and informative.
Day 2
I’m conflating two things Andrew Castle said, but he did say them quite close to each other. Yes, nothing takes my mind off the cost-of-living crisis (as someone who isn’t self-disconnecting my electricity, though) as watching a lady drink champagne before lunch. WAS SHE EASTING CAKE TOO?
Ahem.
I watched some of the Querry vs. Schwartzmann match, with judicious fastforwarding after Schwartzmann went down a double break in the first. For all that Querry, a former champion (years and years ago) had had to qualify and the Argentine was a seed (who had reached the quarter finals at Queen’s before), the American just had too many weapons, and while he broke later in the second set, it seemed comfortable. I then watched bits of the Penniston vs Ruud match, and basically, Ruud has not come to terms with grass yet. Still, credit to the his opponent, who is lower ranked than Broady and had never played in an ATP Tour match before, for keeping it close, remaining positive after not converting several break points in the first and playing well to win the two tiebreaks. I mean, catching a French Open finalist when they’ve just switched to a surface they’re less confident on is an one’s likeliest time to beat a top 5 player, but..lhe beat a top 5 player. Maybe Ruud and Schwartzmann could pair up to play doubles at Wimbledon?
The match of the day, if not the result of the day (that would be in the previous match, was always going to be Berrettini vs Evans, and I was able to watch all of it bar a couple of serves that caught me unawares, puttering away in the kitchen. The two winners on grass last week, two contrasting styles…but it was soon clear that Berrettini’s big serve (once they started getting the speeds it was ridiculous, and I don’t know what his ace count ended up, as his biggest weapon was on song. Evans had more finesse, though, better volleys, cleverness. There were entertaining rallies, when there were rallies. Granted, Evans lost his last game of the first set and his last game in the second on a double fault, which is disappointing, but all credit to Berrettini, it wasn’t just his serve that won him the match. The last two games were lengthy, hotly contested affairs, with many, many deuces, but Berrettini won both, and absolutely looked like the defending champion and the top seed standing.
He’s come back from hand injury just in time for the grass court season, and there’s a sense of a man rediscovering how much he loves this surface about him. If you can’t tell, I was supporting him because he’s in the conversation for Wimbledon, his play is so positive, and he’d backed up his results to be a top 10 player and higher than that on grass. It doesn’t hurt that he’s good looking.
Second round – day 3
I watched bits, mainly the ends of the sets, of the first two televised matches: Davydych-Fokina playing de Minaur had some spectacular rallies towards the end. The Dutch no. 1 beat Dimitrov, so those two would play each other next.
I watched nearly all of Jack Draper (how young is he?) against Emil Very Finnish Name, although it quickly became apparent that the latter was stronger and better in most departments. At least Draper got on the board in his second service game after being outclassed in the first three games. He seemed composed, but if I were the Finn, I would be riled that I was in the sixties with my ranking and had had to qualify, while this young kid on the other side of the net was someone just in the top 100 who’d got a wildcard. Ranking and experience showed, and for all their desire to play favourites, Castle and Lloyd had to appreciate the tennis.
Draper kept his serve throughout the second set, despite coming under far more pressure than he managed when returning. But big first serves and a few inspired points aside, he just couldn’t match his opponent.
I then watched some of Cilic versus Bublik – Bublik was up 5-0 in the tiebreak and let that lead dissipate. By the end of the second set, it was obvious that Bublik had gone rogue, while Cilic remained a (nervy) pro, ultimately winning to face the Finn.
Second round – day 4
I mostly fast-forwarded through the first match. Wawrinka hasn’t come back to his best at this stage of his comeback from injury was my main takeout, and I didn’t get a feel for his opponent’s play.
I was busier that evening, so I only watched the next match and that was in fits and starts.
There was something delicious about the match up: Kudla (who had beaten Murray in Surbiton) was there as a lucky loser who’d won his first round now facing Berrettini (who had also beaten Murray in Stuttgard, although who knows how much Murray’s ab injury had to do with it.) In fairness, the no. 2 seed is not having the kindest draw: why can’t he play people who don’t know how to play on grass?
In part because Kudla (American, but born in Kiyv, huh) can and has been doing well on the green stuff this year, but also he’d come up with a good game plan: play aggressively enough to harry Berrettini, the Italian didn’t get off to a good start. His first serve just wasn’t there, the foundation of his game, granter of quick points, and some of his play in the first set was abysmal. Kudla was better.
It seemed like Berrettini reset a little at the start of the second set, but although there were break points for both, no-one could take them, and momentum was shifting the Italian’s way, he seemed to tighten up his game, made fewer errors, but let Kudla make errors instead, and Berrettini’s first serve was a huge factor in his winning the second set tiebreak.
I had to fast forward through the third, so I didn’t get a feel for it: there were breaks, break backs and there was one terrible, terrible volley from Berrettini, whose game was not the best, but he fought, and for all the reasons he’s in the top 10 and Kudla has never made the top 50, he was the victor. Just.
Quarter finals – day 5
I was able to pick and choose, so I fast forwarded through the first match. It seemed to me as if the Dutchman was less bad than the Spaniard.
But I did watch the second QF between Berrettini and American Tommy Paul (who Castle kept calling Tommy Ball). It was only then that I really grasped that Paul had been the one to beat Shapavalov. Would he, a decent decent American player – though they don’t seem to have a top-flight male player right now - be able to employ the tactics that Kudla had against Berrettini?
It seemed as if the same, flat Berrettini from that match had turned up, although Castle posited that serving into the sun was his problem. So, the lower ranked player was up 3-0, but when Berrettini stepped up to serve again, he seemed to be the server that he generally is, and ever so gradually, he improved, while Paul…did not. In fact, he lost his serve on a double fault, letting Berrettini serve for the first set, and the next time Paul served, he double-faulted again. It seemed like his level dropped in the second set, making it easier for Berrettini, whose shot speed improved, who got to hit some of his big shots and won the second comfortably
I dipped in and out of last Brit standing Ryan Penniston against the number 3 Serbian player (I couldn’t have told you who their no. 2 was either). Penniston won the first and created some more break points in the second set, but apart from some good aggressive shots, it wasn’t enough, and I started napping (it was really hot) and despite not having a great volley for someone who was willing to serve or volley, the Serbian won in the third.
I went for a walk and, refreshed, sat down for the more interesting match, the up-and-coming Finn, Ruusuvuori against Cilic. It soon became clear that Cilic was making his opponent look callow in terms of shot selection. Cilic was really good, or at least for a set and a half, serving, striking and moving with authority, emphasising his experience here and at Grand Slams (that record makes him the eighth best player these days, and Federer has gone walkabout – is he even going to turn up at Wimbledon? Wawrinka, Thiem and Murray are trying to find their way back, from injury.)
Ruusuvuori’s soundness was evident, but this was his first big test, and as Flemyng observed, he’s now learned he needs to work on his serve and his defence to progress. Cilic needs to work on his nerves, though, because as the finish line approached, his nerves got in his way and it was suddenly a struggle.
At this point, I expected Berrettini and Cilic to make it through the semis, if they played close to how they played in the quarters, although I guess you’d prefer to be Berrettini, starting off poorly and then improving, than starting off sharp and weakening towards the end. Should be noted that Cilic’s outfit was my favourite. It hadn’t occurred to me that he was wearing the colours of the Croation flag until a commentator pointed it out, but I liked the effect of the colours bleeding into each other. Berrettini looked good in his probably black outfit, although you wouldn’t have blamed him for not wearing it on the hot Friday.
Semi-finals – day 6
The weather and conditions were transformed. We were warned it would be an on-off day for rain, although as it turned out, it wasn’t so bad. The first semi was delayed and there was one terribly timed rain interruption, but, really, we got a lot of uninterrupted play.
We were regaled with how Botic van de Zandschulp had flown up the rankings about 120 places in a year and was now just in the top 30. It started off closely, but Berrettini was more like the player of the last match than the one before, and managed the conditions better. His Dutch opponent was less assured about his movement – he was the one who had the most slips, but when he complained about the noise (which the microphone wasn’t picking up, and I’ve heard way noisier crowds at Queen’s,) it was clear that he was letting the conditions get to him, while Berrettini was coming into the net a lot and judging what he needed to do better. Granted, he got nervous serving for the first set, but broke again to win the set, and he’d had a lot of break points, and although the rain crowd-assisted rain delay was at an unfortunate break point, there were a lot of break points in the second too, and Berrettini did not have a problem serving it out to get through to his second final on grass after his injury and his second final here.
I settled down for Cilic against the Serbian, who I hadn’t seen much of, and it seemed a more competitive semi, until Cilic had a torrid service game, a mix of his own mistakes – his serve just wasn’t there – and his opponent putting pressure on him when he had a play on the ball. He kept solid and won the first, but soon broke Cilic in the second (I admit I dozed for a few games here) and it did not look as if Cilic could compose himself to fight back. I roused to see him force the Serb to serve it out, which he did. He had a high percentage of first serves in in the first set, and Cilic didn’t seem able to make him pay for serve and volleying a lot. From the interview, it sounds as if Krajinovic isn’t putting any pressure on himself, which is the right attitude, and why should he? This is all rather remarkable, given that he’d never won on grass before this tournament, despite a decade on the tour.
Finals – day 7
John Lloyd was making a big deal of Berrettini’s break point conversion rate not being high, so that was ringing in our minds as the Italian faced the surprise Serb. And it seemed pertinent as Berretini was up 0-40 in the first game, having elected to return, but his opponent found a way to win the break points on his serve, as he’d done all week. It soon became clear it’d be an entertaining match, with both players willing to come to the net. Berrettini was doing better on his return games and broke first, but could not consolidate it. Back to level terms, but at 5-5 Berrettini’s intensity got him another break, and he was determined to serve it out. His serve wasn’t quite as dominant as you might have expected, perhaps conditions weren’t favourable.
But having gee-ed himself up to win the first set, he remained aggressive in the second, and as the commentators picked up on, he just had too much firepower for Krajinovic: the serve was better, that forehand either was a winner or allowed his next shot to be one, and his backhand slice did some damage as well as some of his net play, because even if the Serb was good at anticipating, he wasn’t always able to produce a good shot when he got there. After getting himself into a position to serve out the match, at 30-30, Berrettini found two very good serves to win in two.
The crowd cheered – possibly louder because he was defending champion and not playing a Brit. Yes, he’s got movie star looks, but there’s something very engaging about the way he plays. He speaks well – idiomatically good English, and plaudits for whoever told him to go and say nice things to Sue Barker at her last Queen’s – I don’t recall a second interview like that after someone’s gone around with the big trophy before.
On reflection, it’s very impressive that Berrettini came back from finger/hand surgery to win two back-to-back grass tournaments. He talked about learning from last year and working on his slice (noticeable) and return (in hindsight, yes. He must have been pleased that he won against Kudla in three when his play was flat, and he’s outclassed or outpowered everyone at Queen’s. After being off for the clay-court season is back in contention for Wimbledon.
Eastbourne wasn’t available on iPlayer when I looked last evening, which might have been quite early for it to be up, but I didn’t look again later.
[Edited for typos 26/2/25.]
