Wins and convinces Matteo Berrettini on his debut at the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo. In a match that started over an hour late due to rain (and the failure to open the retractable roof, ed.), world no. 45 overcame the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, world no. 67 and coming from the qualifiers, with scores of 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and a half of play. First set where Matteo raced ahead 5-1 thanks to three consecutive breaks: a brief lapse cost him the Dutchman’s comeback, halted at 30-30 in the eighth game with two aces that secured the set for him. Berrettini immediately broke his opponent’s serve at the start of the second set and then stayed ice-cold during his own service games, saving a dangerous break point in the eighth game. The blue player, who was coming off 3 consecutive victories in the Davis Cup with Italy, finished with 7 aces, a 72% first serve percentage, and an excellent 71% win rate. The 28-year-old Roman is now awaiting in the second round either American Taylor Fritz, world no. 7 and top seed (from whom he just lost in the second round of the recent US Open), or Frenchman Athur Fils, world no. 24.
Navone defeats Darderi 6-4, 6-4
Immediately eliminated Luciano Darderi: the world no. 41 was defeated with a double 6-4 by Argentine Mariano Navone (ranked 40). The South American was relentless on break points (saving eight of the nine granted), winning after an hour and 45 minutes of battle, securing his fourth direct match out of seven, all in the last 12 months. For Darderi, still few satisfactions on hard courts, in a match where he only managed to hit 14 winners compared to his opponent’s 33. Luciano will return to the court next week at the Masters 1000 in Shanghai.