“[Tennis] is the love of my life,” an emotional Berrettini said, as he thanked the crowd for their support. “Because if it wasn’t I wouldn’t be here.”

The former Wimbledon finalist has had his share of injury struggles in recent years, and they've forced him to miss each of the last four editions of the Parisian Slam. 

“After all the setbacks, all the injuries, all the bad moments, I came back once again,” he said. “There were moments where it was really tough to come back and play, because I wasn’t ready and I wasn’t sure about my confidence – now I feel great.” 

After saving two match points against Francisco Comesana in an epic third-round tilt, the world No.105 looked fit and fresh as he became the lowest-ranked men’s Roland-Garros quarterfinalist since 2007. 

Berrettini’s blistering forehand – the Italian pounded 25 forehand winners, and 51 overall – made the difference as he made the most of his chances in second- and third-set tiebreaks. 

World No.56 Cerundolo etched his name into tournament lore by shocking top seed Jannik Sinner, winning 18 of the final 20 games of their second-round match.

That win was the first domino to fall in a series of surprising upsets that has left the men’s singles draw without a single former Grand Slam winner after three rounds.

“I feel like there are so many players that are playing unbelievable tennis,” Berrettini said of the wide-open men’s draw. “The field is pretty packed. I’m trying to do my best – I’m focusing on myself and I want to enjoy this win.” 

There have been plenty of breakthroughs from young guns this week at Roland-Garros, the performances of Joao Fonseca, Rafael Jodar and Jakub Mensik giving those rising talents confidence that they can make it in the dog-eat-dog world of Grand Slam tennis. 

Berrettini is at the other end of the career arc, but his performance has been equally enlightening for him. 

After his five-hour and 13-minute third-round win over Comesana he explained the sensations he is experiencing as his self-belief is being reborn. 

"Even though I had unbelievable support from my family, from my friends, from my team, and everybody kept telling me that I still had it in me, sometimes I just have to confess that I thought that I couldn't come back, I couldn't feel good on court again," he said.

"That's why I basically was emotional, because I proved to myself one more time that I can do this, I can do it well, I can fight, I can enjoy my time on court."

Berrettini will face either Frances Tiafoe or Matteo Arnaldi in the quarterfinals.