World number 64 Lucia Bronzetti beat Valentin Grammatikopoulou 6-2 6-2 in 78 minutes to send Italy into the final of the United Cup with a 3-1 win over Greece on Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney. Italy will take on the USA in this Sunday’s final.
Stefanos Tsitsipas came back from one set to beat Matteo Berrettini 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 after 2 hours and 35 minutes in the third match of the tie keeping Greek hopes alive. Italy led 2-0 overnight following the wins of Lorenzo Musetti over Stefanos Stefanos Sakellaridis in straight sets (6-1 6-1) and Martina Trevisan over Maria Sakkari in three sets (6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-4) on Friday.
Berrettini came into the match with a lot of confidence after wins over Thiago Monteiro and top 10 players Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkacz. The 2021 Wimbledon finalist saved a break point in the fourth game before converting his first break point in the seventh game with a forehand passing shot to take a 4-3 lead. Berrettini held serve in the eighth game for 5-3 and sealed the first set 6-4 on his third set point.
Berrettini won his 14th consecutive service points to hold serve in the sixth game for 3-3. Both players held their service games en route to the tie-break. Tsitspas earned two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-2.
Tsitsipas saved a break point in the sixth game of the third set in the sixth game before breaking serve in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion held serve for 5-3. Berrettini held serve for 4-5 but Tsitsipas sealed the win with a volley on the second match point to claw one point back to 1-2.
“What a great atmosphere out here. I am loving it. We won this together guys. Somehow I hung in there. I was waiting for my chances. He is a big server as we all know. He hits some bombs consistently, so you have to accept a few and you have to move on from that point, concentrate on your serve. I played a very good game where I earned the break. I was able to play with a lot of intensity and I think my concentration and I think my concentration peaked at that particular game”, said Tsitsipas.
Bronzetti clinched Italy’s spot in the final with a 6-2 6-3 win over Valentini Grammatikopoulou, who replaced Despina Papamichail at the last minute. Papamichail had beaten Bronzetti in their previous head-to-head matches in the qualifiying round at the 2021 US Open and in Vancouver 2022.
Bronzetti earned two breaks to open up a 4-0 lead after winning 16 of his 20 points. Papamichail won his first service game for 1-4, but she missed two break-back points in the sixth game. Bronzetti closed it out 6-2 on her second set point.
Bronzetti earned a break in the third game with a forehand return to take a 2-1 lead. The Italian player held her next service games to seal the second set 6-3.
“It was not easy, because it was the most important point. I felt pressure because I had to win. I knew that it would have been a tough match. I am proud of myself, because I think that I had a good attitude in the court, and I also played good”, said Bronzetti.
