World number 10 Matteo Berrettini dropped his first set of the tournament but edged past Czech qualifier Tomas Machac 6-3 6-2 4-6 6-2 to reach the third round at the Australian Open.
Berrettini set up a third round match against Karen Khachanov. The Italian top player won all his three head-to-head matches against his Russian rival in Sofia, Stuttgart and Halle in 2019.
In the first set Machac earned three break points in the opening game, but Berrettini saved them. Berrettini earned the first break in the second game to open up a 3-1 lead. Machac created two more break points in the fifth game, but he made a forehand error. Berrettini saved the second break point with an ace.
Berrettini went up a double break in the seventh game to open up a 5-2 lead and served out the opening set at love.
Berrettini converted his second break point after four deuces in the first game of the second set. The 2019 US Open semifinalist went up a double break to race out to a 3-0 lead. Machac rallied from 0-40 down in the fourth game but Berrettini held serve at love. Berrettini converted his second break point in the sixth game to win the second set 6-2.
Berrettini saved three break points in the second game and two more chances in the sixth game. Machac earned three set points at 5-4 on return, as Berrettini hit three forehands into the net. The world number 199 converted his second chance after Berrettini made another forehand error.
Berrettini started the fourth set with an immediate break in the first game and dropped just five points on his four next service games. Machach faced a break point in each of his four service games. Berrettini did not convert his first three chances, but he sealed his fourth break point at deuce in the 10th game to close out the fourth set 6-4.
“This win gives me confidence, as I did not play very well, but I managed to win the match. My shots have not worked very well, but I was mentally strong. In tennis it is not always possible to be perfect and I need to learn from these matches to have positive days, when I don’t play my best tennis. I did not Machac and I had never seen him before. He played a good match. He was unpredictable and I had to dig deep to beat him”, said Berrettini.
