Matteo Berrettini mortified, no derby with Jannik Sinner

Matteo Berrettini was immediately defeated in the first round of the Internazionali d’Italia. The Roman tennis player, engaged in the Central Court of the Foro Italico, disappointed the fans flocked to see him and was sharply defeated by the Australian Alexei Popyrin in two sets with the score of 6-2, 6-3 after almost an hour and a half of the match.

The world number 60 had no mercy on the Azzurro, who appeared late in condition and in difficulty both in the moves and in serving. For the Italian also 22 free errors. In the first set the Roman lost his serve in the sixth game, then again in the eighth.

In the second partial, the Roman’s difficulties during the exchanges increased significantly and Berrettini could do nothing against a much more solid opponent. At the beginning of the set an episode penalized the Italian: chair judge Aurelie Tourte made him repeat a controversial point after Popyrin had lost the string clip of his racket. In the sixth game came the break that decided the set and the match: in the ninth all that was left was pride for Berrettini, who nullified three consecutive match points but then surrendered 6-3.

Popyrin will face Czech Jakub Mensik, the number 26 seed, in the second round, while Berrettini will try to regain a better condition ahead of Roland Garros and especially the season on grass, where he is aiming for good results.

The first-round knockout stings even more when one considers that Berrettini could have crossed paths with Jannik Sinner in the third round of the tournament. The world No. 1, a great friend of the Roman, will make his debut on Saturday against the winner of the match between Austria’s Sebastian Ofner and the U.S.’s Alex Michelsen, and the Italian derby would have been one of the most anticipated events of the tournament.