Matteo Berrettini's Cincinnati Open ended in the second round on Saturday night, as the Italian was edged out 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3 by Jiri Lehecka in a contest decided by the narrowest of margins.
Berrettini, a former world No. 6 and Wimbledon finalist, competed on every point and refused to let the match drift away from him. But after losing the opening set, he fought back to take the second in a tie-break before the Czech, the more seasoned player on the day, closed out the decider. It is another early exit for the 30-year-old, who remains in search of a deep run at a Masters 1000 event.
Lehecka will meet Arthur Fils in the next round after the Frenchman beat Germany's Yannick Hanfmann 7-6(5) 6-1.
The night was a grim one for Italian hopes in Ohio. Luciano Darderi followed Berrettini out of the draw, overwhelmed 6-4 6-2 by Australia's Rinky Hijikata in just 72 minutes. The world No. 95 produced 30 winners to Darderi's 10 and dictated from the baseline throughout, a sharp comedown for the Italian after his run at the Canadian Open in Montreal last week.
There was a stirring comeback elsewhere on the card. Rafael Jodar, a semi-finalist in Montreal, clawed past Denis Shapovalov 7-5 4-6 7-5 in almost three hours, recovering from 5-1 down in the deciding set. The Canadian served for the match and held a match point in the eighth game, but won no further games as the young Spaniard stormed through. Jodar now faces Alejandro Tabilo.
Alexander Zverev, pushed late into the night by rain delays, came from a set down to beat Cameron Norrie 3-6 6-3 6-3, finishing at 2:15am local time. The German gets a day off before facing Terence Atmane.
Flavio Cobolli and Lorenzo Sonego are now the only Italians left in the Cincinnati draw.
Sources
- Il Tennis Italiano – ATP Cincinnati: cadono Berrettini e Darderi. Si salvano Zverev e Jodar: https://www.tennisitaliano.it/atp-cincinnati-cadono-berrettini-e-darderi-si-salvano-zverev-e-jodar/
