Matteo Berrettini defeated Russian Roman Safiullin
Three hours on the court, after another two months of stop since his last match played in the circuit, to start his adventure in the Atp 250 Stuttgart well. Matteo Berrettini had to struggle and not a little to tame Russian Roman Safiullin, in a hard-fought challenge that can only be good for him in view of the upcoming engagements.
The 28-year-old Roman showed good signs throughout the match and confirmed how he now needs to play many matches (even close ones) to get back to 100% condition and to a level close to the Bigs. The goal in the short term can only be Wimbledon, Slam in which he reached the final in 2021.
Despite the break, his confidence with his serve is by no means gone. In fact, ‘The Hammer’ finished with an impressive 27 aces, one of the figures that made the most difference especially in the crucial stages. The two did not concede any serving chances in the first set, thus pushing on to the tie-break.
Lucidity and the ability to make the right choices in the decisive points allowed Matteo to prevail 10-8. In the second set, between the fifth and sixth games, both had to nullify a break ball before confirming serve.
Matteo Berrettini is back to winning
Matteo Berrettini defeated Russian Roman Safiullin in the first round of the ATP 250 tournament in Stuttgart, winning with a score of 7-6(8), 5-7, 7-5 and thus qualifying for the second round of the tournament on German grass.
“I had no energy left. First match after more than two months, I am proud of the way I fought during the match. I didn’t expect anything different, I hadn’t played for quite some time. I just stayed there focused and enjoyed myself. I hope I don’t have to play tomorrow, the physio did a great job and I want to be ready: the first one is done, now let’s hope for the second one. Everyone smiled and stopped me here, in 2019 I won this tournament for the first time and I already had a lot of support from the audience” – Berrettini said.