Matteo Berrettini beats Hurkacz and becomes first Italian in Wimbledon final

Berrettini powers to 6-3, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4 victory
‘He has a big chance in the final,’ says Hubert Hurkacz

Matteo Berrettini likes to tell a story about how, as a youngster, he was not considered to be a great athlete, finding himself bottom of the stats when it came to athletic prowess among his fellow top junior players.

On Friday, the 25-year-old from Rome became the first Italian – man or woman – to reach the Wimbledon final, beating Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, the 14th seed, 6-3, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4 with a barrage of stunning strikes. In the biggest match of his career to date, the No 7 seed hit 60 winners, served like a dream with 22 aces, and made just 18 unforced errors to take his place in a first grand slam final.