As a barometer of future Wimbledon champions, the Queen’s Club Championships have been nothing if not reliable down the years. Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Murray – all have gone on to win at the All England Club after lifting the oversized trophy in this quiet residential corner of west London, and it would be no great surprise if Matteo Berrettini followed suit three weeks from now.
Berrettini, who completed his defence of the title he won on his debut last year with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic, has now won nine straight matches on grass, following his win over Andy Murray in Stuttgart last weekend. In his past four tournaments on the surface, a run encompassing 21 matches stretching back to Queen’s last year, only Novak Djokovic has bettered him, the Serb coming from a set down to win the Wimbledon final last summer.
It is a compelling body of work, the most recent additions to which are all the more impressive for the fact that Berrettini is only a fortnight into his return from a three-month absence after undergoing surgery on his right hand in late March. His huge serve and flamethrower forehand mark him out as a natural threat on grass, yet it is the more overlooked aspects of the 6ft 5in Italian’s game – his biting sliced backhand, his blocked returns and chipped approach shots, the dexterity with which he utilises his formidable wingspan at the net – that truly distinguish him from the pack. Berrettini is a hybrid champion, a player who, in combining the big weapons that have become de rigueur in the modern game with traditional grass-court skills that are increasingly overlooked, has one foot in the present and the other in the past.
It does nothing to hurt Berrettini’s marketability that he also exudes a quiet charm and charisma. His engaging character, so apparent when he invited a ball girl who was standing over him with an umbrella to shelter beside him during a rain delay in his semi-final against Botic van de Zandschulp, was again in evidence after the final as he spoke with humility of what the victory meant to him.
“It’s too many emotions,” said Berrettini. “The last thing that I expected was coming back from surgery and winning two titles in a row and defending my title here, one of the most prestigious tournaments that we have. I don’t want to cry, but I just cannot believe it.
“My team can tell you, I arrived in Stuttgart and I wasn’t feeling great, I wasn’t hitting the ball the way I wanted, the way I used to do, and I was like, ‘Guys, I think it’s going to be tough.’ But it went pretty well. I guess I am Italian, so I’m always complaining. I cannot complain now.”
Some monstrous early ball-striking from Berrettini threatened to make Krajinovic look like the grass-court novice he was before this week, when he registered his first wins on the surface. But having clubbed his way to two break points in the opening game, the Italian was denied by some clutch play from Krajinovic. The Serb underlined his resilience further when he immediately cancelled out a break in the fifth game, punching away a backhand volley to punish some sloppy play by Berrettini.
Krajinovic was nonetheless forced to toil relentlessly on serve, in marked contrast with Berrettini, and at 5-5 the pressure finally told. Either side of some untimely backhand errors from Krajinovic, the Italian produced a brilliant flicked forehand winner and a lunging drop volley to secure a decisive second break. He was on his way.
Berrettini talked warmly afterwards of the tournament’s history, saying it gave him goosebumps to know that his name would now appear twice alongside those of the great champions of the past on the clubhouse wall. Having savoured his second victory at an event that he insist is an end in its own right, his focus will now switch to the bigger prize that lies ahead.
“I think I couldn’t ask for a better start and preparation,” said Berrettini. “But this tournament wasn’t a preparation for Wimbledon. This is Queen’s. I came here to defend my title. Like I said, it is one of the most prestigious titles that we have. From next week, there is another goal.”
In the Halle final, Daniil Medvedev was beaten 6-1, 6-4 by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. The match was notable for the abrupt departure of Medvedev’s coach Gilles Cervara, who left his courtside seat early in the second set after the Russian world No 1 launched a verbal tirade in his direction. The match was later interrupted by a protester who ran on court and unsuccessfully attempted to tie himself to the net ,in an echo of a similar incident that occurred during the French Open final a fortnight ago.
Medvedev later apologised to his wife, Daria, who was seated beside Cervara before the Frenchman’s hasty departure.
“’Daria, thanks a lot for this week,” said Medvedev, who was also beaten in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch final last weekend. “Not easy to be with me on the court sometimes, but hopefully next time will be easier and much better.”
The finals of the WTA events in Birmingham and Berlin were both cut short by injury.
At the Birmingham Classic, Beatriz Haddad Maia won her second title in a week after China’s Zhang Shuai succumbed to a neck injury as she trailed 5-4 in the opening set. Haddad Maia, the Brazilian world No 32, beat former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep in the semi-finals and has now won 10 successive matches on grass.
In Berlin, Ons Jabeur claimed the third title of her career after Belinda Bencic suffered an ankle injury late in the opening set. Jabeur, who won her first title on grass in Birmingham last year before winning on the clay courts of Madrid last month, was 6-3, 2-1 ahead when the Swiss was forced to call it quits.