Matteo Berrettini channeled the energy from a boisterous crowd at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Saturday to earn an impressive victory upon return to Rome.
The home favourite, who is making his first appearance at the Italian ATP Masters 1000 since 2021, conjured some inspired shotmaking to move past Jacob Fearnley 6-4, 7-6(0) and reach the third round. Berrettini rallied from 3-5 in the second set and saved two set points on return both with volley winners before completing a hard-fought one-hour and 55-minute win.
After improving to 8-5 in the Italian capital, Berrettini will next face Madrid champion Casper Ruud, who kept his form alive with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Alexander Bublik. The sixth seed stood firm in the face of some electric shotmaking from Bublik, who hit a series of stunning drop volleys to spark hopes of comeback.
“It feels great,” said Ruud, who now leads Bublik 7-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “I’m not sure how to address this match. It’s a lot of ups and downs, here and there, side to side. When Sascha starts his game, it becomes a bit of a show, so you just try not to admire it, to stay focused.
“He always hits spectacular shots, and sometimes it’s a little frustrating for us opponents. But all in all, happy to be through a tough three-setter. It’s never easy against Sascha, we had a tough match here in Rome a couple of years ago, so happy to get another today.”
In other early action on Saturday, Marcos Giron stunned countryman and fourth seed Taylor Fritz 7-6(4), 7-6(3) to reach the third round at a clay-court Masters 1000 for the second time in his career (Rome 2022). The 31-year-old trailed 0-4 in the second set, but displayed expertly measured court craft to work his way back in and frustrate his higher-ranked opponent, sealing his victory after one hour, 45 minutes.
Fabian Marozsan defeated 16th seed Andrey Rublev 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 for his second win over a Top-20 opponent on clay. The Hungarian, who memorably defeated Carlos Alcaraz in Rome in 2023, fired 33 winners to Rublev’s 32 in a big-hitting clash en route to levelling the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 2-2.
Eleventh seed Tommy Paul eased past Roberto Autista Agut 6-1, 6-4 to set a third-round meeting with Tomas Machac. The Czech player overcame #NextGenATP Learner Tien 6-4, 6-4.
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