Matteo Berrettini came back from one set down to beat Francisco Cerundolo 5-7 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 on his 27th birthday reaching the third set at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters for the first time his career.
Berrettini went up a double break to race out to a 5-0 lead. Cerundolo pulled back one break in the sixth game. The Argentine player saved a set point in the ninth game before breaking back for the second time to draw level to 5-5. Cerundolo broke for the third and held serve at deuce to win seal the first set 7-5.
The second set went on serve until the 12th game, when Berrettini earned four break points. Cerundolo saved them to force the second set to the tie-break. Berrettini earned three mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-1.
Both players held on their serve until the fifth game when Berrettini converted his fourth break point to take a 3-2 lead, when Cerundolo sent his backhand into the net. Cerundolo saved two break points in the seventh game to hold serve for 3-4. Berrettini clinched the win on his first match point after 2 hours and 42 minutes.
“Monte-Carlo is a very important tournament for me. I have not played many matches recently. It’s a new stage in my life and my career. I lost an important game but I am proud that I managed to bounce back and I was able to win the match at the end. I feel in good shape after this hard match”.
Berrettini has reached the third round at an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time since he advanced to the fourth round in Indian Wells in Indian Wells.
Berrettini set up a third round match against Holger Rune, who beat Dominic Thiem 6-2 6-4. Rune was leading 6-0 1-0 when Berrettini retired from the match in Acapulco last March.
“It’s going to be a hard match against Rune. He is still very young but he deserves his ranking. I was not in my best form in Acapulco. I hope to play a good match next time.”, said Berrettini.
Rune has reached the the Round of 16 for the first time in his third appearance in Monte-Carlo. He was beaten by Casper Ruud in each of his past two editions of this tournament.
Thiem held serve at love in the first game. Thiem reeled off five consecutive games from 1-2 down to seal the first set 6-2 with two breaks in the fifth and seventh games. Rune won 14 of his first serve points in the first set and finished the first set with 80% of his first service points.
Rune broke serve in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. The Danish player did not face a break point until the 10th game, when he served out for the match at 5-4. He hit two big serves at 15-40 to force deuce before sealing the win on his third match point.
“Of course there were a few moments at the end where he had too much time to play, but I think all in all we played on my terms and I am happy with how controlled most of the match”, said Rune.
Rune would move past Felix Auger Aliassime at world number 7 in the ATP Live Ranking by reaching the semifinals in Monte-Carlo.
Taylor Fritz edged past 2014 Monte-Carlo champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (12-10) 6-2. Fritz saved two set points on serve at 5-6 and and three more chances in the tie-break of the hard-fought first set at 6-7, 8-9, 9-10. Fritz won the final three points to win the tie-break 12-10.
Fritz earned his first break in the fourth game and held serve at love to open up a 4-1 lead. The Us player sealed the win with a second break on his first match point.
Fritz hit 26 winner and committed just 7 unforced errors to earn his 21st win of the season on the ATP Tour. The eight seed reached the quarter finals in Monte-Carlo in 2022, in Miami in 2023 and won his first Masters 1000 in Indian Wells.
Fritz set up a third round clash against Jiri Lehecka, who edged past Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7-4) 6-4. Lehecka went up a break twice, but Dimitrov pulled back on serve both times. Lehecka earned three mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-4. Lehecka earned a single break in the ninth game to close out the second set 6-4.
