WIMBLEDON, England — Matteo Berrettini has become the first Italian man to reach the Wimbledon final after beating Hubert Hurkacz in four sets.
The seventh-seeded Berrettini used his big serve and powerful forehand to win 6-3, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4.
Berrettini won 11 straight games from 3-2 down in the first set, taking full advantage of a shaky performance from the 14th-seeded Hurkacz. The Polish player beat Roger Federer in straight sets in the quarterfinals but didn’t hit a single groundstroke winner against Berrettini until midway through the third set.
Hurkacz recovered to win the third-set tiebreaker, only to be broken in the opening game of the fourth.
The last Italian man to reach any Grand Slam final was Adriano Panatta, who won the French Open in 1976.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic was playing No. 10 Denis Shapovalov in the second semifinal.
