Matteo Berrettini conquers Botic van de Zandschulp in Tokyo | ATP Tour

Match Report

Berrettini conquers van de Zandschulp on Day 1 in Tokyo

Italian advances to round two, Navone downs Darderi 

September 25, 2024

Matteo Berrettini hustled his way past Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday under a closed roof to advance to the second round of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.

Fresh off a statement upset over Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open, the Dutchman constituted a tricky path to navigate, but Berrettini was able to nullify any threat. The Italian, who sits at No. 45 in the PIF ATP Rankings, struck 22 winners according to Infosys ATP Stats on his way to a hard-fought victory in one hour, 30 minutes.

Berrettini says Arigatō 🙌@japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/c9jf2KElzN

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 25, 2024

At the ATP 500 event in Tokyo, the 28-year-old was able to display his most ruthless tennis, extending his 2024 record against lower-ranked players to 15-0 as well as his Lexus ATP Head2Head series to 4-0 over van de Zandschulp.

The former World No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings joins Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz as the only men to have claimed three or more ATP Tour titles in 2024, having lifted the trophy in Marrakech, Gstaad, and Kitzbuhel.

Berrettini was ousted in the second round of the US Open last month to the eventual finalist Taylor Fritz but is returning to the ATP Tour in a bid to finish the season with a flourish, establishing himself among the contenders to go deep on his debut in Tokyo.

In the first match of the day, Mariano Navone defeated Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-4 to record his second Tour-level win on hard courts, with the other 15 coming on his favoured clay. The Argentinian won 75 percent of first-serve points and saved eight from nine break points (89 percent) en route to a well-earnt triumph.