PARIS – Nobody expected Marco Cecchinato of Italy to upset Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals at this year’s French Open. Probably not even Djokovic himself – who chose Cecchinato as hitting partner multiple times in the past – could imagine a defeat against the surprising Italian.
Marco Cecchinato is the first male Italian player to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament in 40 years. The last Italian man to go that far was Corrado Barazzutti in 1978. Cecchinato’s performance against the Serbian superstar was one for the ages. The match proved to be an absolute thriller, with an incredible four set tie-breaker during which the Italian finally closed out the match at the fourth attempt after saving three set-points. It is fair to say that if Djokovic had converted one of those set-points and forced a fifth set, the Serb would have most likely prevailed.
On the fourth match-point for Cecchinato, Djokovic made an unusual and risky serve-and-volley attempt, but the Italian found an incredible backhand return that kissed the line. While the chair umpire was announcing “Game, set and match Cecchinato,” Marco laid on the red clay crying in disbelief. Djokovic showed tremendous grace in defeat, hugging and congratulating his former hitting partner. The final score was 63 76(7-4),16, 76(13-11) in the Italian’s favor. The last time that Novak Djokovic lost to an Italian player was before his 18th birthday. Since then, Novak had won 34 consecutive matches against players coming from Italy.
Marco Cecchinato – a proud 25-year-old Sicilian – was almost unknown to the big stage when the tournament started. The Italian coaches never mentioned him as a great prospect, despite Marco’s inspiring and complete game. He truly has all the shots in the book, including a lethal drop-shot.
Djokovic was a shadow of himself during the first set, then the Serb completely raised his level and it was surprising how Cecchinato was able to stay with him. The Italian overcame a 5-1 deficit in the fourth set and avoided a dangerous fifth set, playing with great courage and taking many risks. Jim Courier compared Cecchinato’s wonderful backhand to Wawrinka’s legendary stroke.
“Marco played a great match, credit to him. I was struggling at the beginning, I also had to fight a little injury. Then I played better, but I couldn’t capitalize on my opportunities,” a visibly upset Djokovic said in his post-match press conference.
Cecchinato is the eighth male Italian player in the semifinals of a Grand Slam event, after De Morpurgo, De Stefani, Merlo, Sirola and Pietrangeli who reached the final four before 1968, and Panatta and Barazzutti who reached the semis in the Open Era. “If they told me that I could beat Thiem and eventually lose to Nadal in the final… well, I would sign that document with my blood!” Cecchinato joked in his post-match press conference. In the meantime, Marco’s semifinal is worth 569,000 euro. Not bad for somebody who is ranked No. 72. We have to go all the way back to 1999 to find Andrei Medvedev who reached the final when he was ranked No. 100.
At the end of the French Open, Cecchinato will improve his ranking to at least No. 27, which will allow him to be seeded at Wimbledon. Surely, he is already in the history of Italian tennis.
What Cecchinato said during his press conference (translated from Italian)
Marco, how did you manage to improve that much in just fifty days? Did you hire a mental coach?
I’m a new Ceck (joking on his surname), something clicked in my head. I do not have a mental coach. Maybe I’m maturing. At twenty-five, it’s not late. Over the last two months I started believing in my potential, but there is a lot of work behind it. Sometimes it just happens and you take a leap.
What a jaw-dropping 4th set tie-break! How did you feel when Djokovic saved two match points with two incredible volleys?
It was a nightmare. I thought I had passed him, but he had those great catches. Even the other match points, especially the third. But I think I showed great courage, especially in the end. My pulse was racing, but I stayed focused even if my hand was trembling a little bit.
What did you think when you were trailing in the fourth set ? Were you tempted to focus on a deciding set or were you still believing you could come back in that set?
I thought my Roland Garros was about to end. But there was another set to play. My level dropped in the third set, as expected. I had played two sets at such an intensity. Something new to me, especially against a player like Novak who was starting to be in control. Honestly, in the fifth set he would have been the favorite.
At the end of the game, when you were holding your head, what were you feeling?
The emotions left me in tears. I had just beaten one of the best players in the world. hard to believe! All the hard work is paying its dividends. I started as a child and seeing me there left me overwhelmed.
Do you know that it was 40 years since the last Italian male player reached a Slam semifinal? Is it a turning point for Italian tennis?
Well, it’s been a long time. I didn’t even know that! In my opinion it is a good moment for our tennis, there are many good players. Today I won this incredible match, a semifinal at Roland Garros is a great achievement, I hope all Italy is happy and I’m happy to have rewritten history after forty years.
What happened here in Paris? Do you think you can win the tournament?
It’s the best time of my life, I still cannot believe I’m in the semifinals. No, I do not think about winning the tournament, I want to think about the next match against Thiem. Nadal? It’s on the other side.
(Article translation provided by T&L Global – Translation & Language Solutions – www.t-lglobal.com )
