‘I expected to feel a little bit weird,’ says Matteo Berrettini after comeback win in Cincinnati

ATP Tour
Matteo Berrettini fist pump

Matteo Berrettini’s serve worked well in his comeback match at the Western & Southern Open, but the Wimbledon runner-up concedes his strokes from the baseline were not up to scratch during his win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Playing in his first match since the Wimbledon final due to a thigh injury, the Italian was edged in the opening set before finding his rhythm to win 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 20 minutes.

After no breaks in the opening set, Ramos-Vinolas took the tie-breaker before Berrettini broke in game six of the second set to take it to a decider. A single break in game 11 was enough to help the fifth seed to advance.

“I’m happy for the win. I think I served really well,” he said.

“My strokes from the baseline weren’t working the way I wanted them to, but I knew from the beginning it’s been a long time since I played a match, especially on hard, so I expected to feel a little bit weird. “But the most important thing was I was there, I fought every point, I tried to put myself in conditions where I could win the match. That’s what I’m most happy about.”

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Berretetini will face either Karen Khachanov or 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round.

Sixth seed Denis Shapovalov crashed out as the Canadian was beaten by Benoit Paire with the French winning 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 while 13th seed Roberto Bautista Agut suffered a 6-3, 6-4 defeat at the hands of 2017 Cincinnati champion Grigor Dimitrov.

“I am very very happy,” Dimitrov said. “He is such a tough opponent, but I served really well when I had to. It was good to finish a match in straight sets, I am just appreciating the moment.”

Albert Ramos-Vinolas Benoit Paire Denis Shapovalov Grigor Dimitrov Matteo Berrettini

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