Nice and far from obvious victory for Matteo Berrettini in the first round of the ATP 500 tournament on the grass of Halle. The Italian had to shake off the uncomfortable Alex Michelsen, an American born in 2004 with an effective game on grass: 7-6 (5) 6-2 for Berrettini, fresh from the final lost in Stuttgart against Jack Draper. Matteo’s season on the grass is therefore continuing well: in the round of 16 there will be a challenge against Marcos Giron, who ousted Andrey Rublev in two sets in the first round.
the match
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The match between Berrettini and Michelsen was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was postponed to today due to rain. More hours at Matteo’s disposal to recharge after last week’s climb in Stuttgart, while his opponent had the advantage of having played the qualifiers and therefore being used to the conditions in Halle. The first set was tight: Berrettini did well to recover the break deficit (3-0 and 4-1 at the beginning for the opponent) and to take the partial to a tie break, winning seven points to five. Balance broken in a few points, therefore. The fight continued at the beginning of the second set, but Matteo was good at moving his opponent more and serving more consistently: thanks to a double break, he closed the set and match with a splendid pass with his one-handed backhand seal the meeting.
Darters out
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Instead, a defeat came for Luciano Darderi, at the end of an incredible match in the first round in Halle. The Italian-Argentine, in the first match of his career on grass in an ATP draw, played on equal terms against the very uncomfortable Jan-Lennard Struff, who prevailed in the sprint: 7-6(2) 5-7 7- 6(10) for the German, last year finalist in Stuttgart. There was a big question mark about the adaptation to the Darderi meadows, fresh from the victory in the Challenger on the Perugia clay: net of the defeat, the answers are extremely positive. Darderi’s regret is not having exploited the break advantage in the third set, with the immediate reaction of Struff who then needed 10 match points to close the game, also canceling an opportunity for the blue in the tie break, won 12 points to 10. A heart-pounding finale, Darderi did his best to keep alive a match that was often close to closing. Struff will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 16.
sinner
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Good first also in doubles for Jannik Sinner. The world number 1, paired with his friend Hubert Hurkacz, won 11-9 in the tie break match (in doubles matches in non-Grand Slam tournaments, in the case of a tied set, a 10-point tie break is played ) against the number 3 seeded pair of Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow, both Americans. Sinner and Hurkacz had won the first set 6-4 and lost the second 7-5, before winning in the decisive tie break: a great victory against two excellent doubles players. Sinner and Hurkacz will now face the French Doumbia/Reboul.
