Italy’s Matteo Berrettini has advanced to his first Grand Slam semi-final, beating Frenchman Gael Monfils in a thrilling five-set encounter that went for nearly four exhausting hours.

With both players fighting fatigue and a faulty serve down the stretch, Berrettini eventually triumphed 3-6 6-3 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-5).

Berrettini finally knocked out the No.13 seed on his fifth match point after double-faulting away his first chance long before that.

“Right now I don’t remember any points. Just the match point,” No.24 seed Berrettini said on court.

“While I was playing I thought, this is one of the best matches I ever saw. I was playing, but I was watching also.”

The match that began under muggy conditions ended under the closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium, 3 hours, 57 minutes after it began.

For Berrettini, it marked the latest triumph in a season in which the 23-year-old Italian won titles in Budapest and Stuttgart en route to a career-high ranking of 20th in June.

He will meet either No. 2 Rafael Nadal or No. 20 Diego Schwartzman for a place in the final.

Monfils was hoping to join his girlfriend Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals after her quarter-final win over Briton Johanna Konta.

-AAP