Gianluca Cadenasso in the photo
Match after match, the former Slovakian top-100 is finding his best form. He beats Caniato and is the favorite for the title: among other things, in Italy he has already won three Challengers… and he is a fanatic of our cuisine. Give him a caprese and he will be happy. Bergamo in the doubles final with Leonardo Malgaroli
There could be an all-Italian final, but also a Sunday without the Azzurri. It would be the first time in the history of the AZIMUT Trophy in Bergamo ($15,000, clay). The changes in the scoreboard meant that the two Italians remaining in the competition, Gianluca Cadenasso and Alessandro Pecci, had to face as many foreigners. But it is no coincidence that Juan Pablo Paz and Andrej Martin reached the final stages, by far the players with the most important past among those competing at the Tennis Club Città dei Mille. Especially the Slovakian, a player with decidedly noble associations. Although he is 35 years old, he showed his class and a quite clear superiority against Carlo Alberto Caniato. The Italian from Ferrara, born in 2005, is growing and has made an excellent impression, however he could do nothing against a Martin who is finding the right condition, day after day. The impression is that at the start of the tournament he was more vulnerable, while the 6-3 6-3 with which he beat Caniato makes him favorite for the semi-final against the 23-year-old Alessandro Pecci (on court not before 2pm, after the doubles final) . Among other things, Martin is decidedly at ease on clay: he played the only ATP final in his career there (Umag 2016), and reached the third round at Roland Garros, also in 2016.
CAPRESE, WHAT A PASSION
In what was a year of grace, he also reached the third round at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics (but they were played on hard courts). Among other things, he has a special bond with Italy: of the 12 Challengers he has won in his career, he has won three in our country (San Benedetto del Tronto, Padova and Biella). He also loves our cuisine, so much so that about ten years ago he was the protagonist of a funny episode in San Benedetto del Tronto, when they brought him a caprese with mozzarella, ham and tomatoes directly on the court, because in an interview the day before he had repeated several times that he loved this dish. The chefs at the restaurant of the Tennis Club Città dei Mille have been warned… In the other semifinal, Juan Pablo Paz and the up-and-coming Gianluca Cadenasso will face off: not too credited on the eve, the Genoese is showing off one great performance after another and has slipped into the area of the scoreboard left free by the n.1 Pennaforti. Cadenasso won with a clear 6-3 6-2 against Lucio Carnevalle, Pennaforti’s executioner. The feeling is that he has more than one chance against the experienced Argentine. In the meantime, Bergamo will cheer for the Caniato-Malgarori pair in the doubles final, since Leonardo Malgaroli is the only Bergamo player left in the competition. The two will play for the title against the other Italian pair Catini-Perfetti. In short, once again, it will be a day to enjoy at the TC Mille. It’s not every day that you have someone like Andrej Martin in an ITF tournament…
