Mattia Bellucci gives himself a smile in Montpellier

Mattia Bellucci in the round of 16 in Montpellier

It's a happy Tuesday for Mattia Bellucci, who after a couple of bad results (out at the qualifiers at both the Australian Open and the Quimper Challenger) returns to success in the first round of the Montpellier ATP tournament, the Open Sud de France, overcoming a very tricky opponent on paper as Lucas Puoille.

The six-position difference between the two contenders (No. 98 Bellucci, No. 104 Pouille) is reflected in the balanced performance of the match: the athlete from Castellanza, however, emerged in the decisive moments of the first and second sets, going on to close 6-4, 6-4 the match, which lasted an hour and 41 minutes (52 minutes the first fraction, 49 the second).

Bellucci thus advances to the round of 16 of the tournament, whose top seeds include the likes of Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Flavio Cobolli, Alexander Bublik (winner of the tournament in 2024) and Tallon Griekspoor. The Open Sud de France has been held annually since 1987: until 2009 it was è played in Lyon, since 2010 in Montpellier (only in 2011 it was è not played).

The tournament's roll of honor features only one Italian, Jannik Sinner, who in 2023 won the Open Sud de France by defeating American Maxime Cressy 7-6(3), 6-3 in the final. The current world No. 1, a two-time Australian Open champion, è the only representative of the tricolor to have played a final in the 39-year existence of the tournament.