Matteo Berrettini continues his fine run of form this year as he dominated compatriot Luciano Darderi at the first round of the BNP Paribas Nordic Open played out in Stockholm on Monday. The 28-year-old Italian overcame a break of serve early to whip his way to a 6-4, 6-3 win in one hour and 17 minutes. Against Darderi for the first time in his career, Berrettini had to play with the unfamiliar terrain in the early stages of the match. Berrettini began with a losing position in the initial set, but he regained the rhythm and was well relying on his powerful forehand.
After this balance shifted in his favor, the higher-ranked Berrettini only appeared to briefly lose his grip as he took control of the match with strong groundstrokes and a more aggressive approach. "I think I played a solid match. Even though we are both Italian, we had never played against each other, so I didn't know what to expect," said Berrettini in a post-match interview. "It's my first time here in Stockholm, and my first hit on center court, so new things, but I think my attitude was really good. The more I was playing, the more I was feeling good."
Berrettini was nearly unstoppable at the service throughout the match. Infosys ATP Stats report that he won 89 percent of points behind his first serve, taking 31 of 35 points, leaving Darderi little room to work his way back in the match. Berrettini is now 17-0 against players lower than him in the rankings this year, too. Lastly, clinical performance underlines the apparent growing self-confidence as he tries to hold onto one of those top contenders on the ATP tour.
Meanwhile, Tallon Griekspoor maintained his good rhythm on hard courts as the seventh seed overcame Pavel Kotov of Russia 6-4, 6-3 at the ATP 250 in Stockholm. Griekspoor, meanwhile, needed only an hour and 12 minutes to outclass his opponent from Russia, raising his win-loss tally to 9-2 this season for qualifying wins on hard courts. Griekspoor's eight aces played a key role in his second successive win over Kotov, thus taking their Lexus ATP Head2Head level at 2-2.
Lorenzo Sonego: He survived a nightmarish thrill-fest against qualifier Marc-Andrea Huesler, as he edged the Swiss in two tight sets, 7-6(1), 7-5. This was one of those matches that indulged the spectator in one rally after the other, with both opponents displaying extraordinary back-to-back resilience. Sonego failed to close out points, particularly the tiebreak in the first set, which turned out to be the difference between booking his slot into the second round and coming close to conceding a dreadful defeat in the first round.
Interest in the BNP Paribas Nordic Open hasn't waned at all thanks to Berrettini, Griekspoor, and Sonego, each of whom had great opening rounds in Stockholm. The match is expected to be ruthlessly more top-notch in terms of quality as the tournament unfolds, with Berrettini taking off from his good beginning and working towards making it to the finale.
