Matteo Berrettini battles past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in five sets to reach US Open quarter-finals

Matteo Berrettini recovered from a set and a break down to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in five sets and reach the US Open quarter-finals for a second successive year.

A shock looked to be on the cards when unseeded Davidovich Fokina broke the 13th seed midway through the second set, but Berrettini found his range and held off a spirited fightback to win 3-6 7-6(2) 6-3 4-6 6-2.

“I am really proud because I didn’t start the match the way I wanted to, but I fought through,” said Berrettini.

“I found the right energy. I was a little bit tired in the fourth and he was playing unbelievable tennis. But I lost the fourth and then I thought I’m going to give it everything.”

Asked about the humid conditions in New York, Berrettini said: “I like to play in these conditions. I love to play in New York but the thing is, it’s changing a lot.

“Two days ago against Murray, it wasn’t as humid, so it changed a lot. I was sweating this morning. Today I had to drink a lot and that’s what I did. But yeah, I did a couple of weeks training really hard before the tournament and I guess it paid off.”

Davidovich Fokina won the only previous meeting against Berrettini on clay last year and was in the ascendancy to start, breaking in just the second game of the match.

Berrettini threatened an immediate response, getting to deuce in the next game, but Davidovich Fokina held for 3-0.

Davidovich Fokina only dropped one point in his next two service games and sealed the set at the first attempt.

It looked like more trouble for Berrettini as he was broken again in the fifth game of the second set, but this time he was able to respond and level.

The Italian then started to find his range with his powerful groundstrokes and serve, setting him up to sweep through the tie-break and level the match.

Berrettini then broke to start the third set and dominated on serve, firing down three love holds in a row and then breaking again.

There seemed little chance of a Davidovich Fokina fightback when Berrettini opened the fourth set with another love hold. But the Spaniard didn’t go away and managed to break in the third game, taking his fourth break point to lead 2-1.

Davidovich Fokina held onto his advantage and looked up for the fight as he roared when he closed out the set.

Again, though, Berrettini rallied, breaking twice quickly as he moved 4-1 ahead in the deciding set.

Davidovich Fokina then appeared to suffer a knee injury and that ended any chance of another comeback as Berrettini managed to get across the line.

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