Luca Nardi struggles, but it’s not enough: Alex De Minaur wins
Luca Nardi tries, fights for almost two hours, but it is not enough. It is in fact Alex De Minaur who enters the third round of the Internazionali d’Italia. Eliminated, however, with a very high head the Pesaro-born class of 2003, who, as number 95 on the ATP circuit, holds his own against someone who occupies the number 8 position in the world rankings. And who in the end prevails yes in two sets, but with the score of 6-4, 7-5.
Nardi’s resistance lasted almost three quarters of an hour in the first set, in which he ceded service to De Minaur for the 3-1 point but in turn found a valuable break in the seventh game. It proceeded under the banner of balance until the tenth game, when the Australian took advantage of the first set point at his disposal to close out another break and seal the deal.
Even more epic, however, turned out to be the second set, already beginning in the game in which Nardi took a lead of 1-1 after no less than 24 points and five break points nullified. Four more came two games later, but in the sixth game De Minaur managed to take a 4-2 lead only to have the 4-3 counterbreak returned again. Once again the’last game proves decisive, with the Marche player dreaming of a tie-break that will never come.
Nardi thus fails to add his name to that of the victorious Italians in Rome on a memorable Saturday at the Foro Italico. In fact, before him won Matteo Berrettini over Jacob Fearnley and the returning, highly anticipated Jannik Sinner over Mariano Navone (great was the South Tyrolean’s emotion after his success). Nothing to do instead for Matteo Gigante against Jakub Mensik.
