Blood, sweat and cheers as Matteo adds X factor

ALCARAZ NEXT FOR ITALIAN

- Neil McLeman

MATTEO BERRETTINI claimed he would have "signed with my blood" to return to form and fitness at "special" Wimbledon as he set up a glamour clash with Carlos Alcaraz today.

The charismatic Italian, who reached the 2021 final, was forced to miss the tournament at the last minute 12 months ago with Covid after retaining his Queen's Club title.

And his new model girlfriend had to deny she was not the cause of his abdominal strain which ruled him out of the clay-court season.

The world No.38 was not even sure if he could play Wimbledon after losing his only grass-court warm-up match in Stuttgart.

But Alexander Zverev claimed the Italian could win his first Grand Slam title here after the brilliant Berrettini beat the Olympic champion 6-3 7-6 7-6 in the third round.

And the Roman said: "Honestly, I think it's incredible to get to the second week. I didn't think it could happen.

"There is clearly something in the air about this place, something special. This is the tournament that changed my career and it's really special for me to play well here again. It feels unbelievable.

"If they told me a few weeks ago you're going to play five days in a row in Wimbledon, I would have signed with my blood.