Tsitsipas beats Berrettini to keep Greek United Cup final hopes alive
The world number four came through a do-or-die clash in Sydney 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 to earn a crucial point for his country.
Italy went into day two of the semi-finals with a 2-0 advantage after a gutsy Martina Trevisan upset world number six Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-5 in a gripping encounter on Friday.
Trevisan's teammate Lorenzo Musetti then crushed Greek teenager Stefanos Sakellaridis 6-1, 6-1.
With Tsitsipas winning, the pressure is now on Valentini Grammatikopoulou who plays Lucia Bronzetti in another must-win clash. If she does, the tie will go to a deciding mixed doubles rubber.
"I hung in there and was just waiting for my chances, he's a big server," said Tsitsipas. "I was able to play with a lot of intensity."
Berrettini, ranked 16, took a grip on the high-quality match with an unanswered break in game seven of the first set.
They went toe-to-toe in set two before the pumped-up Greek star prevailed in a tiebreaker to take it to a third set where he ground down his tiring opponent.
