Jannik wins the Italian derby without problems and will now face Rublev, the Italian-Argentine gives himself a dream and tomorrow challenges the Spanish talent Jodar in the quarterfinals. Musetti still forced to retire
A few meters away at the Foro Italico three Italians on the pitch. Too bad for those who were on Central for the derby between Jannik Sinner and Andrea Pellegrino. He missed the feat of Luciano Darderi who eliminated the number two seed of the tournament, the German Aleksander Zverevafter losing the first set 6-1 and having major physical problems in the second. A spectacular comeback for the Italian Argentine who was almost incredulous at the end, especially for the 6-0 defeat given to the German in the third set. Zverev literally walked off the field, while Darderi went up. The Italian canceled four match balls from Zverev in the tie-break of the second set and then closed 12-10. Darderi was down 4-2 in the second set and in the first game of the second match he had asked for a warm-up. He seemed on the verge of collapsing, but instead he never gave up while Zverev lost confidence. Darderi’s 6-0 defeat of Zverev in the third set was sensational, amidst the jubilation of the Roman public and the disbelief of the German. Darderi in the quarter-finals he will face the Spanish talent Jodar tomorrow.
Pellegrino makes a good impression with Sinner
He tried in every way Andrea Pellegrino in the Italian derby on Centrale with Jannik Sinner but the number one in the world is on a high level of play. Yet the Apulian challenged him especially in the second set. Jannik, as often happens lately, chose to receive in the first game and he immediately broke Pellegrino’s serve. Then it flew to 4-0 with Pellegrino who perhaps also paid a little emotion for his first time on the Centrale of the Foro Italico. Then the Apulian loosened up and tried to play his tennis. But at that point Sinner had the first set in hand and closed 6-2 with the first service ball coming to his aid in the rare moments of difficulty. In the second set, however, Pellegrino’s level of play increasedso much so that in some situations Sinner even appeared surprised by the resourcefulness of his opponent who supported the exchange with Jannik from the baseline and also put on a show with some volleys and some short balls. Absolute balance until 3-3, when Sinner got the break that definitively directed the match. In the end Jannik takes home the victory 6-2, 6-3 and extends his record. Now I am thirty-one consecutive victories for the world number one in the ATP 1000 tournaments. In the quarter-finals scheduled for Thursday Sinner will meet Rublev who beat Basilashvili in three sets.
Musetti retires
The ordeal continues Lorenzo Musetti forced to retire in the round of 16 match against Ruud. “Today I didn’t want to withdraw because I’m tired of withdrawals, I apologize for the show but I wasn’t able to compete. Here in Rome I played on one leg and I was afraid to put my left leg down. Roland Garros? We’ll see, I have to do checks and tests to understand. Mentally it is difficult to be clear and proactive, I have never had so many injuries in my career. I hope that the exam results are positive so that I can go to Paris with a different attitude. The future of the season is cloudy at the moment, I’m struggling to think in the long term.”
