STUTTGART: Matteo Berrettini made a winning return to tennis on Sunday when he defeated an injury-hit Andy Murray 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to win the Stuttgart grass court title.
Berrettini, who last played in March and then underwent hand surgery, won his ninth Stuttgart match without a loss as he backed up his 2019 debut trophy on the grass of the Weissenhof Club.
Murray, who took the match into a deciding third set as he played in the 70th final of his career, was bothered by apparent groin pain and was seen by the trainer after dropping serve to love to begin the final set.
“This is so unbelievable,” 10th-ranked Berrettini said after claiming his first title since winning Queen´s Club last June.
This was the last thing I could have imagined when I came back to the
I thought for a second I might not be able to play this event, now that I’m here holding the trophy it does not seem real.
“My goal was to do well after the first surgery of my life. I didn’t play my best tennis at the start of the week, but I got better with each match.'