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Daniel Altmaier reached the knockout stages of the French Open completely unexpectedly.
In the third round, the German outsider beat Italian Matteo Berrettini, who finished in seventh place, in three sets with 6: 2, 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 4. The 22-year-old got very well in the game and determined what was going on early on.
“This is just the beginning,” said Altmaier, who will now face Spanish Pablo Carreño Busta (number 17 on the seeded list). Eurosport. He said I had to “get on my bike relatively quickly,” he said and smiled at the congratulations on reaching the second week of a Grand Slam tournament: “I was in qualifying, for me it’s already the third week.” Now he wants to take it easy as usual, agitated is a foreign word for Altmaier.
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“I have played so many games at so many levels this year and I learned to focus only on what I am doing. Since I took it in, everything has been much easier.”
In fact, some things seemed extremely easy to do. His clearly favored opponent never found his game and had to accept a defeat as clear as it was deserved.
Altmaier seizes rest opportunities, Berrettini does not
An early break to 2-0 gave Altmaier a 3-0 lead in the first set after ten minutes. Above all, Altmaier’s one-handed backhand hit with precision caused big problems for the Italian. “When he hit him, he really did,” Altmaier said: “But when the game started, I realized: Wow, he’s down a gear.”
The German recognized his opportunity, after two breaks and just 29 minutes of play, he won the first set 6: 2. “Then the doors opened,” he said, “I always had the feeling that my game was above him and I could dictate the points. “
Berrettini was ahead in many statistics. He hit more aces than his opponent, made fewer double errors, hit more winners and brought more first serves to the field. However, he made 42 avoidable mistakes during the rally. The biggest problem: The Italian was only able to win 14% of his breakballs, compared to 57% for Altmaier (4 of 7).
Already the victories over the Spaniard Feliciano López and his favorite compatriot and friend Jan-Lennard Struff almost no one had believed the young German. Besides US Open finalist Alexander Zverev, Allgäu were the only German to reach the third round in Paris.
Serious injuries slow Altmaier
Not long ago, there were still many signs that his promising career would come to an end quickly. Altmaier was considered a great talent from a young age, and his goals were just as great.
Three years ago, he set out to compete in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and be among the top 100 in the world. Fate had other plans, however, and injuries slowed Altmaier time and time again. He hit hard in 2018 when injuries to his abdominal and shoulder muscles put him out of action for most of the season.
The passionate fisherman Altmaier, who has been working with the Argentine coach Francisco Yunis for about a year, does not fail because of his confidence. “I have nothing to lose,” the world number 186 said before the Berrettini coup, especially since everything is finally going well. “That is reflected on the court because I only think about tennis,” Altmaier said.
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with sports information service
