Berrettini books R2 spot in Vienna, Cobolli advances

Matteo Berrettini bounced back from a disappointing early exit in Stockholm by producing a dominant performance at the Erste Bank Open on Monday when he moved past Marton Fucsovics 7-5, 6-4 in Vienna.

The Italian, who fell to Dominic Stricker in the second round in Stockholm, did not face a break point against Fucsovics, winning 86 per cent (32/37) of his first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats to advance to the second round after one hour and 48 minutes.

“I think it was a really good match. I served really well and I always like to play here,” Berrettini told ATPTour.com. “I was really pumped before coming here and I’m thrilled to be in the second round. I know it’s a tough tournament, but I love to be here. The crowd is great, the court is really nice and I like the conditions, so I’m looking forward to the next match.”

Berrettini, a three-time tour-level titlist in 2024, is making his third appearance at the ATP 500. The No. 41 player in the PIF ATP Rankings reached the semi-finals in 2019 and the quarter-finals in 2021. Aiming for another deep run at the indoor hard tournament, Berrettini will next meet fifth seed Frances Tiafoe or Cameron Norrie.

Earlier, Flavio Cobolli improved to 21-5 in opening-round matches in 2024 with a 7-6(1), 6-3 victory against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Cobolli saved all three break points he faced and struck 20 winners to advance after one hour and 36 minutes. The 22-year-old Italian leads Davidovich Fokina 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and will next play second seed Alex de Minaur or German Jan-Lennard Struff.

De Minaur is ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 265 points behind eighth-placed Andrey Rublev. De Minaur will be aiming for a deep run at the ATP 500 to boost his hopes of competing at the Nitto ATP Finals, held from 10-17 November.

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