Australian Open 2022: Matteo Berrettini vs Carlos Alcaraz preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (7) Matteo Berrettini vs (31) Carlos Alcaraz

Date: 21 January 2022

Tournament: Australian Open 2022

Round: Third round (Round of 32)

Venue: Melbourne, Australia

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $75,000,000

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Liv

Matteo Berrettini vs Carlos Alcaraz preview

Seventh seed Matteo Berrettini will square off against Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster third-round clash at the 2022 Australian Open on Friday.

Berrettini overcame a second-set wobble to defeat American Stefan Kozlov 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the second round. The Italian played incredibly well, ending the match with 53 winners and just 29 unforced errors. His serve was also on point, hitting a whopping 21 aces and a solitary double fault.

Carlos Alcaraz at the 2022 Australian Open.

Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, continued his fine run of form to defeat Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 in the second round and advance to the third round of the Australian Open for the first time.

The Spaniard is touted as one of the most promising young talents on the men's tour and has thus far lived up to the hype surrounding him. His quick ascent to the top is reminiscent of compatriot and idol Rafael Nadal and he will look to continue making giant strides.

Matteo Berrettini vs Carlos Alcaraz head-to-head

The two have faced off once before, with Alcaraz winning 6-1, 6-7(2), 7-6 (5) in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Vienna Open. He leads their head-to-head 1-0.

Matteo Berrettini vs Carlos Alcaraz prediction

This match is extremely hard to call. Berrettini is a higher-ranked player with more experience, but Alcaraz is no stranger to taking down big names. At last year's US Open, he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets in the third round.

The Spaniard is a powerful baseliner with a reliable serve. His huge groundstrokes often push his opponents far behind the baseline.

Berrettini will have the edge when it comes to serving, but his backhand remains a liability and could be exploited by Alcaraz. If the Spaniard can get enough returns in play and force Berrettini into the backhand corner, he will be able to dictate the points.

Alcaraz has looked in supreme form in this tournament and might just pull off the upset.

Prediction: Carlos Alcaraz to win in four sets.

Also Checkout : Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic Head to Head Stats

About the author

Rohit is a journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in covering tennis. Having been with the company for four years, he has proven himself as a formidable force in the field. With a Master's degree in law, Rohit brings his analytical and research skills to the forefront as a journalist. He stays on top of the game by using social media platforms and never misses a match for on-court insights. He values giving credit where it's due, keeping his reporting fair and accurate.

At the outset of his career, Rohit found his niche in writing previews and SEO pieces and it's this expertise that continues to define his role at Sportskeeda. He is particularly proud of one article that garnered an impressive 750k views and surpassed his "wildest dreams." Rohit is not particularly fond of (GOAT) debates and it is one of the reasons why he left the legal world behind. He prefers to view players in "tiers," where they're all esteemed to an extent. However, if pressed to name favorites, he would choose Serena and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters' journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of tennis has been his greatest source of inspiration.

When he isn't busy making spot-on predictions about match outcomes, Rohit likes reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and comics. As an X-Men fanatic, he's also passionate about board games and enjoys watching movies in his spare time. And don't be surprised if you catch him silently wishing to the tennis gods for the removal of ad scoring from doubles.

Know More

Edited by Arvind Sriram