Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin saved three consecutive match points on Wednesday to advance to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia second round in Rome.

Trailing 6/9 in a Match Tie-break, the Dubai semi-finalists claimed five consecutive points to complete a 6-4, 1-6, 11-9 victory against Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Melzer and Roger-Vasselin started well, winning 83 per cent of first-serve points (15/18) in the opening set before their opponents charged back into contention.

The Austrian-French duo is seeking its first title this week. Prior to this year, Melzer and Roger-Vasselin had made only two appearances as a team. Their next opponents will be 2017 champion Nicolas Mahut and Benoit Paire. Mahut and Paire battled past third seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 7-6(6), 2-6, 10-6.

US Open champions Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares extended their winning streak to six matches. The unseeded pairing saved all three break points it faced to eliminate fifth seeds Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek 6-1, 6-3 in 58 minutes.

The team Pavic and Soares defeated in the US Open final — Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic — also advanced to the second round. The eighth seeds beat Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 6-4, 6-4.

Kitzbühel finalists Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos continued their strong run of form, beating wild cards Gianluca Mager and Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-2. The fourth seeds are chasing their third clay-court trophy of the year, following back-to-back title runs at the Argentina Open and the Rio Open presented by Claro in February.

Rafael Nadal made a welcome return to the ATP Tour on Wednesday evening, when he got his quest for a 10th Internazionali BNL d’Italia crown off to a strong start in his first tour-level match for 200 days.

Nadal grew in confidence to extend his unbeaten ATP Head2Head record to six matches against fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in a 6-1, 6-1 victory over 73 minutes at the Foro Italico in Rome.

It was Nadal’s first match since 29 February, when he lifted the 85th tour-level trophy of his career at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC (d. Fritz) in Acapulco.

“It’s good to be back on the Tour,” said Nadal, in an on-court interview. “I miss the crowds. I played a good match, maybe he was a little bit tired after all his matches in New York. It was a perfect start for me. It was solid, [and I hit] good shots on the forehand and backhand. I didn’t expect to play that well.”

The 33-year-old superstar, who owns a 62-6 record in Rome, is attempting to capture a record 36th ATP Masters 1000 title this year, which would break a tie with World No. 1 and four-time former Rome champion Novak Djokovic. Nadal will next play No. 13 seed Milos Raonic or Dusan Lajovic in the third round.

Nadal saved one break point in the first game, and from 1-1 won 16 of the next 22 points. En route to a 5-1 advantage included Nadal striking a powerful backhand winner for a 3-1 lead. He was then a recipient of a backhand wide from Carreno Busta in the sixth game. Nadal closed out the 36-minute opener with an ace.

There was no let-up for Carreno Busta, the recent US Open semi-finalist (l. to Zverev), who needed to save two break points in the first game of the second set. Nadal raced up the court for a forehand volley winner to break at 1-1, and pressure continued to mount on Carreno Busta, who dropped to 1-4 after a forehand wide. Nadal went on to complete his 14th victory in 17 matches this season with a fifth service break.

Did You Know?
Nadal has been ranked in the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for 782 consecutive weeks since 25 April 2005, second only to Jimmy Connors (789). Nadal has won a tour-level title for an Open Era record 17 straight seasons (2004-20).

Jannik Sinner barely put a foot wrong for more than an hour on Wednesday afternoon in a battle between two Next Gen ATP Finals champions. But a relatively subdued Stefanos Tsitsipas found his clay feet to ensure a resurgence at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Sinner led 6-1, 5-2 and looked set for the second Top 10 win of his career, but Tsitsipas had other ideas. The third-seeded Greek won four straight games to serve for the second set at 6-5, but needed to save match points in the tie-break at 6/7 and 8/9. However, in the decider, it was all Sinner.

The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion regained his focus to beat 2019 Nitto ATP Finals titlist Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-7(9), 6-2 in two hours and 13 minutes for a place in the third round against No. 15 seed Grigor Dimitrov or Yoshihito Nishioka.

“He is obviously a very experienced player,” said Sinner, in an on-court interview at the Foro Italico. “I played against him last year here in Rome. I just wanted to play my game and move better. In the beginning, I was feeling great and I knew it was his first match on clay. When I served for the match [at 5-3 in the second set], I hit one double fault and the tie-break could have gone either way. I tried to start strongly in the third set.”

Wild card Sinner never let Tsitsipas settle on Pietrangeli, the second show court, for the first 40 minutes. The 19-year-old broke Tsitsipas three times in the 30-minute opener and won seven straight games from 2-1 in the first set to 3-0 in the second set.

Sinner, who lost two points in his first three service games (12/14), saved a break point at the start of the second set. Tsitsipas, the 2019 semi-finalist, left his comeback late, breaking Sinner at 3-5 and at 5-5. While Tsitsipas hit a double fault at Ad-Out when serving for the second set, there was no let up on drama.

Tsitsipas first led 4/1 in the tie-break, forcing Sinner to come back. The Greek held set points at 6/5 and 8/7, while Sinner over-hit groundstrokes on match points at 7/6 and 9/8. Tsitsipas clinched the 72-minute set, 11/9, when Sinner hit a forehand into the net. But Tsitsipas then lost the first four games of the decider.

World No. 81 Sinner is now 6-7 in a season hit by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Tsitsipas, who is currently No. 6 in the FedEx ATP Rankings and next in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in November, had beaten Sinner 6-3, 6-2 in the Rome second round last year. The Open 13 Provence titlist is now 18-8 on the season.

“When you’re young, in one year you can do a lot of things,” said Sinner. “I think I have improved everything. Especially the serve. I served a little bit better [today], changing rotation and everything… Playing against him is never easy. Last year was my first test against a Top 10 player. It was a little test… Today, I knew that I had the level to compete better against him. Obviously, it was a great match, and I’m very happy.”

Novak Djokovic opened his bid for a fifth Internazionali BNL d’Italia trophy on Wednesday, beating Salvatore Caruso 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round.

Competing for the first time on clay since his semi-final loss to Dominic Thiem at Roland Garros last year, the World No. 1 improved as the match progressed to record his 51st victory in 60 matches at the ATP Masters 1000 event. In terms of matches won, Djokovic is the second most successful player in tournament history. Only nine-time winner Rafael Nadal, who meets Pablo Carreno Busta later in the day, owns more victories in the Italian capital (61).

“It was a very good test for me. I’m very pleased with the way I handled myself in important moments,” said Djokovic. “I was in control of the match. Served well when I needed to come up with a big serve and moved well. I constructed the points as the clay courts demand, because it’s obviously completely different surface in terms of building the point tactically. Everything went well. I’m very pleased.”

Djokovic has now won 27 of his 28 matches this year. The Serbian owns a tour-leading three trophies this year, having already triumphed at the Australian Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Western & Southern Open in 2020.

The 33-year-old, who tied Pete Sampras’ tally of 286 weeks as the No. 1 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday, is aiming to lift a record 36th Masters 1000 crown this week. Djokovic currently shares the record with fellow 35-time Masters 1000 champion Nadal.

Djokovic will continue his quest for a fifth Rome title against countryman Filip Krajinovic. World No. 29 Krajinovic broke serve on four occasions to defeat 2018 Roland Garros semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 6-1 in 76 minutes. Djokovic will face Krajinovic for the second time in their ATP Head2Head series, after retiring during their only previous meeting in Belgrade in 2010.

“[Krajinovic] is in good form. I haven’t played against him since the first time we played in Belgrade… I retired [from] that match after a set,” said Djokovic. “So I look forward to that. I’m very glad that Filip is doing well with the new coach, Janko Tipsarevic. Filip is someone that I [have been] very close to for many years. I was trying to kind of mentor him in the past seven, eight years. I’m just very, very pleased that he’s doing well.”

After failing to convert two break points at 3-2 in the first set, the Belgrade native broke serve for the first time two games later. Djokovic retuned with consistent depth to rush his opponent, who committed a series of errors from the baseline.

In the second set, Djokovic raised his level to earn two further service breaks en route to his second victory in as many ATP Head2Head matches against Caruso. The four-time champion dictated play with his forehand to break serve in an 11-minute game at 1-1 and closed out the match with back-to-back love service holds.

Marin Cilic needed just 70 minutes to eliminate sixth seed David Goffin 6-2, 6-2 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome on Wednesday.

The former World No. 3 did not face a break point throughout the second-round contest, winning 88 per cent of first-serve points (23/26) to level his ATP Head2Head series at 4-4 against the Belgian. Two of Cilic’s four victories against Goffin have come at this event. The Croatian also defeated Goffin in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals in 2017.

With his third victory since the resumption of the ATP Tour last month, Cilic improves to 15-11 in the Italian capital. The 31-year-old achieved his best result in Rome in 2018, when he beat Pablo Carreno Busta to reach the semi-finals.

Cilic will meet Casper Ruud or Lorenzo Sonego for a place in the quarter-finals. The World No. 40 has not met either player at tour-level.

Fourth seed Matteo Berrettini also produced a fine serving performance to book his place in the third round. The home favourite dropped only three points behind his serve (31/34) en route to a 7-5, 6-1 victory against Federico Coria of Argentina.

Berrettini has now won five of his seven matches since returning to the ATP Tour at the Western & Southern Open last month. The Italian advanced to the fourth round at the US Open for the second straight year, earning straight-sets wins against Go Soeda, Ugo Humbert and Ruud. Berrettini will face US Open quarter-finalist Borna Coric or countryman Stefano Travaglia in the third round.

When Lorenzo Musetti was young, he would visit the Foro Italico with his friends and family to watch the world’s best tennis players like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka. On Tuesday evening at the same venue, Musetti beat one of those legends, defeating Wawrinka 6-0, 7-6(2) in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

“I think it’s a dream that came true, and I’m still not believing what I did tonight,” Musetti said. “I just accept that and let’s see [what happens] in the next days.”

This was just Musetti’s second tour-level match. The 18-year-old qualified for Dubai earlier this year when he was 17, losing against in-form Andrey Rublev in the main draw. The #NextGenATP Italian is at a career-high No. 249 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, but he looked like he belonged in this ATP Masters 1000 event.

“I didn’t expect this win, but I think I deserved it,” Musetti said. “I played really good tennis and I enjoyed all the points of this match.”

Musetti said numerous times during his press conference that he had fun and enjoyed competing on such a big stage. He has earned €48,360 (about $57,270) in prize money so far this event compared to the $69,634 he had previously made in his career.

“I don’t know how many points I got, how much money,” Musetti said. “I just enjoyed the match and I had a lot of fun tonight and hope to keep the process and trust the process of my career and try to play better every point, every day. I think that’s my goal of the moment.”

Musetti has gotten comfortable “playing up”. When the Italian was four he began playing tennis at his grandmother’s house. The first time a coach watched him, he almost immediately placed Musetti with much older kids.

For nearly nine years, he has been under the tutelage of Simone Tartarini. Musetti believes the work they did in the lead-up to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia positioned him well for such a strong performance.

“We worked a lot this month. I think I did one step of maturation of my game and my mentality,” Musetti said. “I just focussed on the game.

“I just tried to keep my serve and then in the tie-break I was really brave and I enjoyed a lot playing in this beautiful stadium. I’m really calm, I don’t know why. But I was calm also before the match. I think that’s the key of my victory.”

Musetti is following in the footsteps of fellow Italian teen Jannik Sinner. One year ago, Sinner won his first Masters 1000 match in Rome and he’d later lift the Next Gen ATP Finals trophy.

“Their success pushes me and it gives me a fire to try to do better. Jannik had an amazing season and it makes me work harder to see him like that,” Musetti said. “I hope to have the level like Jannik, because he is the best of us in Italy. I think that will come soon for me.”

There is still a long way to go for the teenager, but going toe-to-toe with Wawrinka for his first ATP Tour win — and in many cases, taking it to the Swiss — is a good start.

“Stan has an incredible backhand, incredible serve, a lot of power,” Musetti said. “I think I just managed my weapons the best tonight. At the end, it was incredible.” 

Musetti will next play another former Top 5 star when he faces Kei Nishikori in the second round.

While 2020 will go down as a year most will never forget, Roberto Bautista Agut has a momentous first to remember his by – the birth of his son, Roberto. The World No. 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings would be forgiven for being somewhat distracted in an earlier than expected US Open departure two weeks ago. 

Wife Ana Bodi Tortosa was heavily pregnant back home in Spain and on Tuesday the couple welcomed their baby son. The pair married in the off-season, days after Bautista Agut had lost his father, while playing a pivotal role in Spain’s Davis Cup Finals triumph in Madrid.

Ya tenemos a Mini Rober en brazos! La mamá, una campeona, y el bebé están muy bien. Estamos inmensamente felices ? ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Mini Rober was born today! Both mum and baby are doing well. We can’t be happier! ? pic.twitter.com/dKRKzyIc2O

— Roberto BautistaAgut (@BautistaAgut) September 15, 2020

The Spaniard shared the baby news via Twitter and Instagram with a photograph from the hospital bed in Valencia on Tuesday. Fellow players Novak Djokovic, Marin Cilic, Fabio Fognini, Jan-Lennard Struff, Carla Suarez Navarro, Marcelo Melo, Pablo Andujar and Carlos Alcaraz were quick to offer their congratulations.

After he reached a maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon last season Bautista Agut memorably spoke of how he was forced to postpone his bachelor party plans in Ibiza a week. He revealed he and his wife were expecting the first child in an Instagram post in May. 

A string of winning streaks is on the line as nine-time champion Rafael Nadal begins his Internazionali BNL d’Italia title defence in Rome on Wednesday. The No. 2 seed meets last week’s US Open semi-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta in his first clay-court match of the season.

In an all-Spanish showdown, Nadal is gunning for a perfect 6-0 ATP Head2Head record when he meets the World No. 18 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in the second round. The pair most recently squared off in the third round at this year’s Australian Open, where Nadal prevailed for the loss of just seven games.

Looking for his 11th straight match win at the Foro Italico, the 34-year-old has not lost in Rome since newly crowned US Open champion Dominic Thiem beat him in the quarter-finals three years ago. Nadal will be looking for his sixth consecutive straight-sets win in his first outing since he captured the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco in March.

World No. 1 and four-time champion Novak Djokovic also begins his clay-court season in Rome on Wednesday when he meets Italian wild card Salvatore Caruso in the second round. The 27-year-old Caruso saved a match point to down US qualifier Tennys Sandgren 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) for his first ATP Masters 1000  win of his career on Tuesday. 

Djokovic leads the duo’s ATP Head2Head series 1-0, having defeated the Italian in the third round at Roland Garros last year. Prior to the US Open, the Serb tied Nadal’s record with a 35th Masters 1000 title at the Western & Southern Open and in doing so completed the Career Golden Masters for the second time. No other singles player has won all nine Masters 1000 events once.

No days off for this man ?

?? @DjokerNole begins his quest on Wednesday for a fifth @InteBNLdItalia title. ? pic.twitter.com/Jg41EhIGDy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 15, 2020

Caruso is one of an Open Era record eight Italians to reach the second round in Rome. In a clash between the two most recent #NextGenATP champions, Italian teenager Jannik Sinner looks to avenge defeat to No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas from the same stage last year.

Tsitsipas went on to reach the semi-finals in Rome in 2019 in a season that also saw him land the biggest title of his career, the Nitto ATP Finals in London. The Greek arrives in the Italian capital coming off a third-round defeat to Borna Coric at Flushing Meadows, in which he let six match points slip. 

?? An Open Era-record 8️⃣ Italians are in the Rome Round of 32 ?? #IBI20 pic.twitter.com/pFWP2fDNnx

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 16, 2020

Back in his home city, Italian No. 1 Matteo Berrettini opens proceedings on Centrale against Argentine qualifier Federico Coria. The No. 3 seed landed his biggest career victory in 2019 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia where he took down Alexander Zverev in straight sets. 

It will be the pair’s first tour-level meeting, however Berrettini owns an ATP Challenger Tour win over the 28-year-old on clay. Coria defeated Jan-Lennard Struff on Monday for his first Masters 1000 main draw win.

Familiar opponents, sixth seed David Goffin and Marin Cilic, will square off for the eighth time in the second round on Wednesday. Cilic rebounded from a set down to see off Alexander Bublik on Monday, while the Belgian – who holds a 4-3 edge in their ATP Head2Head series – will contest his first match since reaching the US Open fourth round. 

SELECTED MATCHES WEDNESDAY

ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2020
CENTRALE start 11:00 am
ATP – [4] M. Berrettini (ITA) vs [Q] F. Coria (ARG) 
ATP – [1] N. Djokovic (SRB) vs [WC] S. Caruso (ITA) 
WTA – V. Azarenka (BLR) vs [WC] V. Williams (USA) 

Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – P. Carreno Busta (ESP) vs [2] R. Nadal (ESP) 
WTA – A. Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs [4] E. Svitolina (UKR) 

PIETRANGELI start 11:00 am
WTA – [6] B. Bencic (SUI) vs [Q] D. Kovinic (MNE) 
WTA – [1] S. Halep (ROU) vs [WC] J. Paolini (ITA) 
ATP – [WC] J. Sinner (ITA) vs [3] S. Tsitsipas (GRE) 
ATP – [Q] M. Cecchinato (ITA) or K. Edmund (GBR) vs F. Krajinovic (SRB) 

Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA – B. Strycova (CZE) vs [2] K. Pliskova (CZE) 


GRAND STAND ARENA start 11:00 am
ATP – M. Cilic (CRO) vs [6] D. Goffin (BEL) 
ATP – [WC] S. Travaglia (ITA) vs B. Coric (CRO) 
WTA – D. Yastremska (UKR) vs A. Anisimova (USA) 
ATP – [15] G. Dimitrov (BUL) vs Y. Nishioka (JPN) or M. Kecmanovic (SRB)