As Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri concoct a cunning plan to break English hearts at the final football hurdle on home soil, another of their brethren is putting his best foot forward to keep winning them over in south-west London.

Less than a day after the Italians upheld their end of the bargain to win their Euro 2020 semi-final, Matteo Berrettini booked his maiden appearance in the last four at Wimbledon.

Bel Paese’s wait for a major football trophy may only extend back as far as the 2006 World Cup, and in tennis to Flavia Pennetta’s 2015 US Open triumph.

Beyond the women carrying the flag on the Grand Slam stages, however, the drought is a little more persistent for the men.

Berrettini is the first Italian man to reach this far at The Championships since Nicola Pietrangeli in 1960 and two victories from following in the footsteps of Adriano Panatta at Roland-Garros 44 years ago as a Grand Slam champion.

Currently riding a 10-match winning streak on grass, having claimed his first ATP 500 title at The Queen’s Club leading in, Berrettini has only lost two of his past 24 matches on the surface. But his scorching streak was not limited to the lawns of London.

The 25-year-old has claimed 23 of his past 26 matches, adding a title in Belgrade, a first Masters 1000 final in Madrid and a maiden Roland-Garros quarter-final – all on clay.

It has been quite the run, considering the uncertainty that shrouded the start of his season.

After reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open he handed Stefanos Tsitsipas a walkover due to an abdominal injury.

Two months later, in only his second singles outing since the injury, Berrettini landed that trophy at the Serbia Open.

“I proved to myself that I can fight and I can digest tough situations,” Berrettini said after his triumph. “I'm able to handle really tough moments.

“There are moments that all athletes in general have, but I really put myself in the struggle without any fear. I came back stronger.”

Having seen off his good friend, No.16 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, in the last eight, the opening in the draw was huge.

Where No.2 seed Daniil Medvedev or No.6 seed and eight-time champion Roger Federer were projected to advance from the bottom quarter, their tormentor, Poland’s No.24 seed Hubert Hurkacz, now lay in wait.

As the No.7 seed, Berrettini is widely favoured to seize that opportunity. He considered the experience invaluable of having faced Rafael Nadal in his maiden Grand Slam semi-final in New York in 2019.

“It's been two years since I was in my first semis, so now it's time to cheer a little bit,” he said. “I would say that it's different, but at the same time it's great.

“Obviously US Open I didn't know before the tournament that I could achieve that. I just played match after match, and I found myself in the semis.

“I mean, playing good, fighting like I'm doing now, but it was more unexpected. Now, stepping in this tournament, I knew that I could do it. I know that also the run is not over. So it's different.”

As the flagbearer for 10 Italian men in the top 100, including three in the top 30, Berrettini would be forgiven for failing to join his compatriots to catch the Italian football team's attempt to land a first Euro trophy since 1968.

That showdown against England comes only hours after the scheduled start of the gentlemen’s singles final.

“I think it's really nice to watch the matches. Since I was a kid, I was watching the Nazionale, the Italian team, the football team. It's something that unify us like nothing... I wish, and I think eventually also for tennis it's going to be like this because there are so many guys,” he said. “We are achieving great results. I think we're bringing tennis also [into] Italian houses, which is great.”

If any motivation was needed ahead of tackling the seed-slaying Hurkacz, Berrettini might do well to replay Mancini’s post-match comments, following his side’s defeat of Spain.

“Almost no one believed we could do it, and yet we are into the final,” Mancini said. “There are games where you have to suffer.”

Berrettini stands ready to again thrust himself into the struggle without any fear. He and the Azzurri are still a few sizeable steps from completing the Super Sunday double. That won’t hold back Italian fans from Wimbledon to Wembley, though, warming up their chant: “It's coming home to Rome.”

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