Berrettini stopped Cerúndolo in Paris and secured a Roland-Garros quarter-final
Matteo Berrettini reached the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros 2026 after defeating Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerúndolo in the round of 16 of the men's singles tournament. The Italian tennis player triumphed on Court Suzanne-Lenglen in Paris with a score of 6:3, 7:6(2), 7:6(6), ending one of the most notable runs of this year's tournament. According to the official ATP Tour results, Berrettini completed the job in three sets, but the score does not fully show how demanding the match was in the closing stages of the second and third sets. Cerúndolo, especially in the third set, had periods in which he put serious pressure on his opponent, but Berrettini was calmer, more precise and more effective in the key points.
The victory is important for Berrettini both in sporting and symbolic terms. According to the ATP Tour report, the former world No. 6 reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2022, and he is appearing in Paris for the first time since 2021. After a series of injuries and long periods away from the biggest stage, his progress into the last eight at Roland-Garros represents one of the tournament's more striking comebacks. Cerúndolo came to Paris as a player who had already produced one of the competition's biggest sensations, but against Berrettini he was unable to find enough solutions in the decisive moments. The Italian also showed that on clay he can rely not only on the power of his serve but also on patient point construction.
Key points decided the second and third sets
Berrettini opened the match more confidently and won the first set 6:3, relying on his opening shot and an aggressive first attack after the serve. At that stage of the match, he looked like the player who controlled the rhythm better and reached shorter points more easily. Cerúndolo tried to extend the rallies and draw the Italian into patient baseline play, which is a natural plan on clay against a player whose serve is one of his main weapons. Still, Berrettini found enough room in the first set to apply pressure on return and quickly gained an advantage he did not let go. That early set gave him scoreboard security, but it did not settle the question of the winner.
The second set brought a much more even contest. Cerúndolo read the direction of Berrettini's serve better, and in several games he managed to force the Italian into extra shots and more complex decisions. Still, when the set went to a tie-break, Berrettini raised his level of play and won it 7:2. According to the ATP Tour report, it was precisely his ability to remain firm in the most important moments that proved decisive for his victory. In such situations, Cerúndolo had less room for error, and every shorter ball or imprecise choice of shot further increased Berrettini's advantage.
The most dramatic part of the match came in the third set, in which Cerúndolo managed to create pressure and at one point had a promising position to get back into the match. The ATP Tour states that Berrettini had to recover from a break down in the third set, which adds extra weight to his final surge. The third tie-break was considerably more tense than the second, and Cerúndolo took the lead and came close to extending the match. Berrettini, however, remained attack-minded in the closing stages, took risks at the right moments and closed out the tie-break 8:6. In doing so, he prevented possible complications against an opponent who had already shown in this tournament that he does not surrender even in almost lost situations.
Serve as the foundation of Berrettini's victory
One of the key elements of the match was Berrettini's first serve. According to Infosys statistics published by the ATP Tour, the Italian won 84 percent of points after landing his first serve, namely 64 of 76 such points. Such effectiveness is particularly important on clay, where it is generally harder for the server to rely exclusively on the opening shot than on faster surfaces. Berrettini used his serve not only for direct points but also to open up the court, after which his forehand was often the next shot with which he took control. Cerúndolo managed to prolong part of the rallies, but he did not reach neutral positions often enough in Berrettini's service games.
Such statistics explain why Berrettini was able to survive the more demanding parts of the match as well. When a player in a best-of-five-sets match wins such a high percentage of points behind the first serve, it is difficult for the opponent to continuously create break opportunities. Cerúndolo found rhythm in rallies in certain phases, but he was unable to attack the second serve steadily enough or maintain pressure through several consecutive games. In the decisive points, Berrettini often chose simple solutions: a powerful serve, a short reply from the opponent and a quick forehand finish. It was precisely that clarity in his game that made the difference compared with the Argentine tennis player, who had to work harder for every point.
Cerúndolo's run ended after great Parisian dramas
Juan Manuel Cerúndolo entered this match with great confidence, but also with a lot of energy spent. According to the ATP Tour, the Argentine tennis player produced one of the biggest sensations of the season in the second round when he defeated world No. 1 Jannik Sinner after a five-set comeback. Sinner, according to the same source, led 2:0 in sets and was very close to victory, but in the conditions of the Paris heat he had physical problems, which Cerúndolo used for a great comeback. It was a result that strongly changed the shape of the upper part of the draw and opened space for players who had until then been in the shadow of the main favourites. With that triumph, Cerúndolo became one of the central names of the tournament's first week.
After the victory over Sinner, Cerúndolo, according to the official Roland-Garros website and the ATP Tour, played an almost six-hour match against Martín Landaluce in the third round. That match lasted five hours and 58 minutes, and Cerúndolo won it in five sets, including a deciding super tie-break. The ATP Tour listed it among the longest matches in Roland-Garros history, just behind several historic marathons from earlier editions of the tournament. Two such duels in a row leave a physical and mental mark, especially in the Grand Slam format where the rhythm of competition quickly continues. Against Berrettini, the Argentine again showed fighting spirit, but he did not have enough freshness and precision to turn the course of the match around once more.
Cerúndolo's Paris performance, despite the defeat, remains one of the more important moments of his career. According to the ATP Tour, ahead of the duel with Berrettini he was the world No. 56, and with his victories in Paris he drew attention to himself beyond the usual circle of candidates for the second week of a Grand Slam tournament. His game on clay, ability to play long rallies and mental resilience came to the fore in the matches that preceded the round of 16. Still, Berrettini offered a different challenge from Sinner and Landaluce, because with his serve he reduced the number of long points and forced Cerúndolo to constantly look for a way into the exchange. In that balance of power, the Argentine tennis player was unable to repeat his earlier surprises.
Berrettini's return among the best
For Berrettini, this result carries special weight because it comes after a period marked by injuries and interruptions to continuity. According to the ATP Tour, the Italian competed at Roland-Garros 2026 as the world No. 105 and became the lowest-ranked quarter-finalist at the Paris Grand Slam since Igor Andreev in 2007. The same source states that with this victory Berrettini secured his seventh quarter-final at Grand Slam tournaments. This is a fact that recalls the level he had already reached, but also the fact that his path in recent seasons was often interrupted by physical problems. In that context, the Paris result is not only progress to the next round, but confirmation that he can still play an important role at the biggest tournaments.
After the match, according to the ATP Tour, Berrettini emphasised how much tennis means to him after all the injuries and difficult periods. In his on-court statement, he said that he had come back once again after the obstacles that had followed him, and that message was in line with the way he played the match. It was not only the victory of a stronger server, but also the victory of a player who remained stable enough in two tie-breaks not to allow his opponent a comeback. Such mental toughness often decides matches in the second week of a Grand Slam tournament, when the differences between players narrow and every weaker game can change the direction of a match. Against Cerúndolo, Berrettini looked like the more experienced and calmer player precisely in those moments.
His tournament so far in Paris also shows how difficult a path he has taken to reach the quarter-finals. The ATP Tour highlighted in its report that in the third round against Francisco Comesaña, Berrettini saved two match points and won a marathon five-set duel. After such a match, he was able to play with enough control against Cerúndolo not to allow another physically exhausting conclusion. In professional tennis, such an ability to recover is often just as important as the technical quality of the game. Berrettini's example in Paris shows how experience, serve and careful risk management can compensate for periods without competitive continuity.
An Italian quarter-final duel and the broader significance of the result
Berrettini will play in the quarter-finals against his compatriot Matteo Arnaldi, who according to the ATP Tour defeated Frances Tiafoe in five sets in the late round-of-16 match. Arnaldi won 7:6(5), 6:7(5), 3:6, 7:6(3), 6:4 and secured his first quarter-final at a Grand Slam tournament. Thus Roland-Garros got an Italian duel for a place in the semi-finals, which further emphasises the strength of Italian men's tennis in this edition of the tournament. The ATP Tour noted that Arnaldi, Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli, by entering the last eight, achieved a historic result for Italian tennis at Grand Slam level. Such an outcome is especially interesting because it happened after the early exit of Jannik Sinner, who came to Paris as the world No. 1.
The upper part of the Roland-Garros 2026 draw opened up considerably after a series of surprises and exhausting matches. According to the ATP Tour, Berrettini remained the only finalist of a Grand Slam tournament in that part of the draw, given that he played the Wimbledon final in 2021. That fact gives his quarter-final an additional dimension, because experience in playing the biggest matches can be an important factor in the continuation of the tournament. At the same time, Arnaldi enters the match with great momentum after an exceptional comeback against Tiafoe, which points to a tactically different duel from the one against Cerúndolo. Berrettini will again try to shorten points with serve and forehand, while Arnaldi will try to extend the rallies and test his physical readiness.
Roland-Garros 2026, according to the ATP Tour, has its main draw played from 24 May to 7 June, while the official tournament website lists the broader tournament frame from 18 May to 7 June. During that period, the Paris clay once again offered a combination of favourites, returnees and unexpected stories. Berrettini's victory over Cerúndolo belongs precisely to that group of results: it is clear in sporting terms, because it was achieved in three sets, but its context gives it additional value. On one side, it ended the Argentine story that began with a sensation against Sinner, and on the other it confirmed that Berrettini had returned to the closing stages of a Grand Slam tournament. The continuation of the tournament will show whether that comeback can grow into an even bigger result on the Paris clay.
Sources:
- ATP Tour – report on Matteo Berrettini's victory over Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, serve statistics, statements and progress to the quarter-finals (link)
- ATP Tour – official overview of the men's singles results at Roland-Garros 2026 for Monday, including the Berrettini - Cerúndolo result and Matteo Arnaldi's victory (link)
- ATP Tour – report on Juan Manuel Cerúndolo's victory over Martín Landaluce and the context after the surprise against Jannik Sinner (link)
- ATP Tour – report on Jannik Sinner's defeat to Juan Manuel Cerúndolo in the second round of Roland-Garros 2026 (link)
- Roland-Garros – official tournament website with data on the 2026 edition and the tournament frame in Paris (link)