Berrettini/Fognini Into St. Petersburg Final On Team Debut

In their maiden tour-level event as a team, Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini reached their first final at the St. Petersburg Open, beating Max Mirnyi and Philipp Oswald 7-6(5), 6-3.

The Italian duo converted both their break-point opportunites to secure victory after 78 minutes, setting a championship match meeting with third seeds Roman Jebavy and Matwe Middelkoop. Jebavy and Middelkoop advanced to the final on Friday, edging past second-seeded duo Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos 7-6(4), 1-6, 10-8.

Berrettini and Fognini have been on a roll since dropping their first set of the tournament, winning six consecutive sets since then. Berrettini teamed with Daniele Bracciali to earn the crown in Gstaad earlier this year for his first ATP World Tour doubles victory, while Fognini owns four tour-level doubles trophies, including the 2015 Australian Open, where he partnered Simone Bolelli.

Mahut/Roger-Vasselin Cruise Into Metz Final
Home favourites Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin played to their top-seeded billing on Saturday, dropping just two games en route to the Moselle Open final.

The French pairing delighted home fans, breaking serve on six occasions to march past third seeds Wesley Koolhof and Andres Molteni 6-1, 6-1 in 51 minutes. Mahut and Roger-Vasselin will meet this year’s Open Sud de France titlists, Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski, for the title. The British brothers recovered from a set down on Friday to beat Oliver Marach and Jurgen Melzer 4-6, 6-3, 10-5.

Mahut and Roger-Vasselin have claimed four tour-level titles together, including three in France in 2012. The Frenchmen triumphed in Metz that year, winning three of their four matches in straight sets. They have combined to capture 36 trophies in their careers.