Bitter defeat to suffer Stefano Napolitano: the Piedmontese was ahead 6-3, 4-1 and serve against world number 21 Adrian Mannarino, but ended up being overtaken in the first round of the ATP 250 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch with a score of 3-6 , 7-6(5), 6-2. The first victory of his career on grass on the major circuit was close, but it just didn’t arrive.
L’approach was good right from the start in the first set, with the break to zero obtained by the blue in the fourth game: the Frenchman, point after point, became increasingly nervous as he failed to take advantage of two counter-break points in the following game. Chances saved which gave further confidence to Napolitano, who continued to serve particularly well to win the first set 6-3.
Cracks and gifts from Mannarino’s serve also arrived at the beginning of the second set: the Frenchman has a terrible performance with the second serve and loses serve twice in a row, first in the third game, then in the fifth game and quickly finds himself down 4 -1. THEHowever, the world number 21 has a surge of pride and manages to recover a break. Napolitano who is unable to take advantage of the 5-2 ball to get back ahead by two breaks and is a bit afraid in the next game: the serve no longer works as it did at the beginning and suffers the second counter-break which puts everything back in balance at 4-4. An empty pass that costs the blue dearly: it reaches the tiebreak and from 5-3 he loses four points in a row and consequently loses the set.
In the third the inertia completely shifted to Mannarino’s side who found greater fluency and confidence, canceled a break point at 0-2, broke at 2-2 and canceled four balls to return to the blue. Then came the double break which gave the Frenchman a comeback that seemed unexpected.
