Matteo Berrettini Seeks To Beat Top Seed Carlos Alcaraz To Reach Quarter-Finals – Wimbledon 2023

• Matteo Berrettini seeks to beat Carlos Alcaraz to reach quarter-finals.

Former runner-up Matteo Berrettini will seek to continue his inspired run when he faces top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round of Wimbledon on Monday.

The Italian, 27, has been struggling with a recurring abdominal problem and was unsure if he would be fit enough to play at the tournament.

“I missed too many events in the last years. I couldn’t leave this place without trying,” said Berrettini.

“This place is special. I feel a kind of energy I don’t feel anywhere else.”

Berrettini, who missed last year’s Wimbledon with Covid, said he had wondered if he would ever return to the form that saw him win Queen’s twice and reach the 2021 Wimbledon final.

“I really spent days in bed thinking about the tournaments that I missed, the injuries that I had, the sadness that I was feeling,” he added.

“I was like, ‘I have to come back and feel alive when I play’.”

Having seen his ranking drop from six to 38, Berrettini has enjoyed convincing victories over Alex de Minaur and German Alexander Zverev on his way to the last-16 match against Alcaraz.

Known for his big serve, the Italian won in a final-set tie-break when the pair met at the Australian Open last year.

“It’s going to be a great challenge but I’m so glad that I have this opportunity right now,” added Berrettini.

Victory for US Open champion Alcaraz would put the 20-year-old Spaniard – who replaced Berrettini as Queen’s champion this year – into the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time, having lost to another Italian, Jannik Sinner, at this stage last year.

Their match is third on Centre Court.

Rybakina And Kvitova seek quarter-final places

Women’s champion Elena Rybakina, who ended the hopes of British number one Katie Boulter in the third round, takes on 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the opening match on Centre Court at 13:30 BST.

Brazilian Haddad Maia has beaten the 24-year-old Kazakhstani both times they have played this year.

That match is followed by an intriguing encounter where two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who has battled back from serious injury to continue her career, faces last year’s runner-up Ons Jabeur.

Medvedev And Sabalenka on Court One

Third seed Daniil Medvedev opens play on Court One at 13:00 BST, taking on Czech Jiri Lehecka.

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed from Belarus, plays Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second match, before Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov takes on Danish sixth seed Holger Rune.

Teen star Andreeva seeks to extend winning run

Teenage star Mirra Andreeva, the youngest woman in the main draw at 16, takes on Eastbourne champion Madison Keys in the opening match on court two from 11:00.

Andreeva delighted fans on Sunday with a superb victory over fellow Russian Anastasia Potapova.

Also in singles action on day eight is fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas who seeks to follow up his success over Andy Murray by overcoming American Christopher Eubanks.

Busy day for British doubles players

Among the British doubles players in action, Neal Skupski, and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof – the number one men’s seeds – seek a place in the third round on court three.

On court 18, Jamie Murray and American partner Taylor Townsend face Marcelo Arevalo and Marta Kostyuk in the second round of the mixed doubles, and Maia Lumsden and Naiktha Bains are in the third round of the women’s doubles.

Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Heather Watson also play in the second round of the mixed doubles on court 12.