Matteo Berrettini took a 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-5 beatdown on home ground in Italy on Wednesday as Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena staged a second-round upset,
The epic which lasted for almost three and a half hours in Florence sent the 2021 Wimbledon finalist out in his opening match, his first on the Tour since losing a US Open quarter-final to Casper Ruud.
The No. 80 winner broke the Italian five times and swept to victory on the back of five winning games to conclude the upset.
“I’m very happy, it’s a very good win for me, the best of my career,” he said.
“I just tried to win every point, to be focused every point, and tried to return the serve.
“He served very well. I’m very happy to be in the next round.”
Berrettini let go of a 7-5, 2-0 lead as his underdog opponent slowly turned the tables.
Second seed Berrettini broke for a 4-2 lead in the final set but then lost his own serve twice to seal his fate.
The winner will play a Friday quarter-final against Mikael Ymer after the Swedish qualifier defeated fifth seed Aslan Karatsev 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-1.
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