Giulio Zeppieri realizes a dream: he is in the main draw at Wimbledon

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Giulio Zeppieri realized a dream by hitting the Wimbledon main draw for the first time in his career. The Roman tennis player, number 353 in the world, overcame Chilean Cristian Garin, number 8 on the qualifying list and 109 in the world, with a final score of 1-6 6-2 6-4 5-7 7-5 after a three-hour and twenty-minute battle.

An uphill start for l’Azzurro, who scraped together only one game in the first set (1-6). The second set, however, took the opposite course with Zeppieri flying to a 4-0 lead in a flash before closing 6-2, bringing the match back to a tie.

The second set was a close affair.

In the third set the level rises and the balance holds until 4-4: here Zeppieri snatches service from Garin winning four consecutive points capitalizing on the break on serve (6-4). In the fourth set the Chilean goes ahead by a break (3-1) but on 5-3 and serve misses two set points. When the Roman reeled him back in (5-5), however, the match was interrupted due to rain and on resumption Garin still managed to close 7-5.

In the fifth and decisive set this time it is the Azure who takes a break ahead (4-2) before the South American recovers it (4-4). At 5-5, however, Zeppieri placed a new and decisive stretch that earned him the most beautiful victory at the Championships.

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