Matteo Arnaldi beats Dutch qualifier Jesper De Jong 6-3 6-2 in 1 hour and 33 minutes to reach the second round at the Playa Laguna Croatia Open in Umag.
Arnaldi won 77% of his first serve points and broke four times to set up an all-Italian second round clash against his compatriot Flavio Cobolli.
Arnaldi broke serve in a 15-minute second game to take a 2-0 lead. The Italian player saved a break-back point in the ninth game to win the first set 6-3 after 48 minutes.
Arnaldi broke serve in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. He went up a 4-1 with a second consecutive break after a double fault from De Jong at 0-40. De Jong pulled one break back in the sixth game, but Arnaldi broke for the third time and held serve in the eighth game to close out the match after saving two break points.
World number 124 Zsombor Piros beat Christopher O’Connell 6-3 6-4. Piros won two ATP Challenger titles this year.
