Novak Djokovic opened his bid for a fifth Internazionali BNL d’Italia trophy on Wednesday, beating Salvatore Caruso 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round.

Competing for the first time on clay since his semi-final loss to Dominic Thiem at Roland Garros last year, the World No. 1 improved as the match progressed to record his 51st victory in 60 matches at the ATP Masters 1000 event. In terms of matches won, Djokovic is the second most successful player in tournament history. Only nine-time winner Rafael Nadal, who meets Pablo Carreno Busta later in the day, owns more victories in the Italian capital (61).

“It was a very good test for me. I’m very pleased with the way I handled myself in important moments,” said Djokovic. “I was in control of the match. Served well when I needed to come up with a big serve and moved well. I constructed the points as the clay courts demand, because it’s obviously completely different surface in terms of building the point tactically. Everything went well. I’m very pleased.”

Djokovic has now won 27 of his 28 matches this year. The Serbian owns a tour-leading three trophies this year, having already triumphed at the Australian Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Western & Southern Open in 2020.

The 33-year-old, who tied Pete Sampras’ tally of 286 weeks as the No. 1 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday, is aiming to lift a record 36th Masters 1000 crown this week. Djokovic currently shares the record with fellow 35-time Masters 1000 champion Nadal.

Djokovic will continue his quest for a fifth Rome title against countryman Filip Krajinovic. World No. 29 Krajinovic broke serve on four occasions to defeat 2018 Roland Garros semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 6-1 in 76 minutes. Djokovic will face Krajinovic for the second time in their ATP Head2Head series, after retiring during their only previous meeting in Belgrade in 2010.

“[Krajinovic] is in good form. I haven’t played against him since the first time we played in Belgrade… I retired [from] that match after a set,” said Djokovic. “So I look forward to that. I’m very glad that Filip is doing well with the new coach, Janko Tipsarevic. Filip is someone that I [have been] very close to for many years. I was trying to kind of mentor him in the past seven, eight years. I’m just very, very pleased that he’s doing well.”

After failing to convert two break points at 3-2 in the first set, the Belgrade native broke serve for the first time two games later. Djokovic retuned with consistent depth to rush his opponent, who committed a series of errors from the baseline.

In the second set, Djokovic raised his level to earn two further service breaks en route to his second victory in as many ATP Head2Head matches against Caruso. The four-time champion dictated play with his forehand to break serve in an 11-minute game at 1-1 and closed out the match with back-to-back love service holds.

Marin Cilic needed just 70 minutes to eliminate sixth seed David Goffin 6-2, 6-2 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome on Wednesday.

The former World No. 3 did not face a break point throughout the second-round contest, winning 88 per cent of first-serve points (23/26) to level his ATP Head2Head series at 4-4 against the Belgian. Two of Cilic’s four victories against Goffin have come at this event. The Croatian also defeated Goffin in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals in 2017.

With his third victory since the resumption of the ATP Tour last month, Cilic improves to 15-11 in the Italian capital. The 31-year-old achieved his best result in Rome in 2018, when he beat Pablo Carreno Busta to reach the semi-finals.

Cilic will meet Casper Ruud or Lorenzo Sonego for a place in the quarter-finals. The World No. 40 has not met either player at tour-level.

Fourth seed Matteo Berrettini also produced a fine serving performance to book his place in the third round. The home favourite dropped only three points behind his serve (31/34) en route to a 7-5, 6-1 victory against Federico Coria of Argentina.

Berrettini has now won five of his seven matches since returning to the ATP Tour at the Western & Southern Open last month. The Italian advanced to the fourth round at the US Open for the second straight year, earning straight-sets wins against Go Soeda, Ugo Humbert and Ruud. Berrettini will face US Open quarter-finalist Borna Coric or countryman Stefano Travaglia in the third round.

When Lorenzo Musetti was young, he would visit the Foro Italico with his friends and family to watch the world’s best tennis players like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka. On Tuesday evening at the same venue, Musetti beat one of those legends, defeating Wawrinka 6-0, 7-6(2) in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

“I think it’s a dream that came true, and I’m still not believing what I did tonight,” Musetti said. “I just accept that and let’s see [what happens] in the next days.”

This was just Musetti’s second tour-level match. The 18-year-old qualified for Dubai earlier this year when he was 17, losing against in-form Andrey Rublev in the main draw. The #NextGenATP Italian is at a career-high No. 249 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, but he looked like he belonged in this ATP Masters 1000 event.

“I didn’t expect this win, but I think I deserved it,” Musetti said. “I played really good tennis and I enjoyed all the points of this match.”

Musetti said numerous times during his press conference that he had fun and enjoyed competing on such a big stage. He has earned €48,360 (about $57,270) in prize money so far this event compared to the $69,634 he had previously made in his career.

“I don’t know how many points I got, how much money,” Musetti said. “I just enjoyed the match and I had a lot of fun tonight and hope to keep the process and trust the process of my career and try to play better every point, every day. I think that’s my goal of the moment.”

Musetti has gotten comfortable “playing up”. When the Italian was four he began playing tennis at his grandmother’s house. The first time a coach watched him, he almost immediately placed Musetti with much older kids.

For nearly nine years, he has been under the tutelage of Simone Tartarini. Musetti believes the work they did in the lead-up to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia positioned him well for such a strong performance.

“We worked a lot this month. I think I did one step of maturation of my game and my mentality,” Musetti said. “I just focussed on the game.

“I just tried to keep my serve and then in the tie-break I was really brave and I enjoyed a lot playing in this beautiful stadium. I’m really calm, I don’t know why. But I was calm also before the match. I think that’s the key of my victory.”

Musetti is following in the footsteps of fellow Italian teen Jannik Sinner. One year ago, Sinner won his first Masters 1000 match in Rome and he’d later lift the Next Gen ATP Finals trophy.

“Their success pushes me and it gives me a fire to try to do better. Jannik had an amazing season and it makes me work harder to see him like that,” Musetti said. “I hope to have the level like Jannik, because he is the best of us in Italy. I think that will come soon for me.”

There is still a long way to go for the teenager, but going toe-to-toe with Wawrinka for his first ATP Tour win — and in many cases, taking it to the Swiss — is a good start.

“Stan has an incredible backhand, incredible serve, a lot of power,” Musetti said. “I think I just managed my weapons the best tonight. At the end, it was incredible.” 

Musetti will next play another former Top 5 star when he faces Kei Nishikori in the second round.

While 2020 will go down as a year most will never forget, Roberto Bautista Agut has a momentous first to remember his by – the birth of his son, Roberto. The World No. 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings would be forgiven for being somewhat distracted in an earlier than expected US Open departure two weeks ago. 

Wife Ana Bodi Tortosa was heavily pregnant back home in Spain and on Tuesday the couple welcomed their baby son. The pair married in the off-season, days after Bautista Agut had lost his father, while playing a pivotal role in Spain’s Davis Cup Finals triumph in Madrid.

Ya tenemos a Mini Rober en brazos! La mamá, una campeona, y el bebé están muy bien. Estamos inmensamente felices ? ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Mini Rober was born today! Both mum and baby are doing well. We can’t be happier! ? pic.twitter.com/dKRKzyIc2O

— Roberto BautistaAgut (@BautistaAgut) September 15, 2020

The Spaniard shared the baby news via Twitter and Instagram with a photograph from the hospital bed in Valencia on Tuesday. Fellow players Novak Djokovic, Marin Cilic, Fabio Fognini, Jan-Lennard Struff, Carla Suarez Navarro, Marcelo Melo, Pablo Andujar and Carlos Alcaraz were quick to offer their congratulations.

After he reached a maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon last season Bautista Agut memorably spoke of how he was forced to postpone his bachelor party plans in Ibiza a week. He revealed he and his wife were expecting the first child in an Instagram post in May. 

A string of winning streaks is on the line as nine-time champion Rafael Nadal begins his Internazionali BNL d’Italia title defence in Rome on Wednesday. The No. 2 seed meets last week’s US Open semi-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta in his first clay-court match of the season.

In an all-Spanish showdown, Nadal is gunning for a perfect 6-0 ATP Head2Head record when he meets the World No. 18 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in the second round. The pair most recently squared off in the third round at this year’s Australian Open, where Nadal prevailed for the loss of just seven games.

Looking for his 11th straight match win at the Foro Italico, the 34-year-old has not lost in Rome since newly crowned US Open champion Dominic Thiem beat him in the quarter-finals three years ago. Nadal will be looking for his sixth consecutive straight-sets win in his first outing since he captured the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco in March.

World No. 1 and four-time champion Novak Djokovic also begins his clay-court season in Rome on Wednesday when he meets Italian wild card Salvatore Caruso in the second round. The 27-year-old Caruso saved a match point to down US qualifier Tennys Sandgren 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) for his first ATP Masters 1000  win of his career on Tuesday. 

Djokovic leads the duo’s ATP Head2Head series 1-0, having defeated the Italian in the third round at Roland Garros last year. Prior to the US Open, the Serb tied Nadal’s record with a 35th Masters 1000 title at the Western & Southern Open and in doing so completed the Career Golden Masters for the second time. No other singles player has won all nine Masters 1000 events once.

No days off for this man ?

?? @DjokerNole begins his quest on Wednesday for a fifth @InteBNLdItalia title. ? pic.twitter.com/Jg41EhIGDy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 15, 2020

Caruso is one of an Open Era record eight Italians to reach the second round in Rome. In a clash between the two most recent #NextGenATP champions, Italian teenager Jannik Sinner looks to avenge defeat to No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas from the same stage last year.

Tsitsipas went on to reach the semi-finals in Rome in 2019 in a season that also saw him land the biggest title of his career, the Nitto ATP Finals in London. The Greek arrives in the Italian capital coming off a third-round defeat to Borna Coric at Flushing Meadows, in which he let six match points slip. 

?? An Open Era-record 8️⃣ Italians are in the Rome Round of 32 ?? #IBI20 pic.twitter.com/pFWP2fDNnx

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 16, 2020

Back in his home city, Italian No. 1 Matteo Berrettini opens proceedings on Centrale against Argentine qualifier Federico Coria. The No. 3 seed landed his biggest career victory in 2019 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia where he took down Alexander Zverev in straight sets. 

It will be the pair’s first tour-level meeting, however Berrettini owns an ATP Challenger Tour win over the 28-year-old on clay. Coria defeated Jan-Lennard Struff on Monday for his first Masters 1000 main draw win.

Familiar opponents, sixth seed David Goffin and Marin Cilic, will square off for the eighth time in the second round on Wednesday. Cilic rebounded from a set down to see off Alexander Bublik on Monday, while the Belgian – who holds a 4-3 edge in their ATP Head2Head series – will contest his first match since reaching the US Open fourth round. 

SELECTED MATCHES WEDNESDAY

ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2020
CENTRALE start 11:00 am
ATP – [4] M. Berrettini (ITA) vs [Q] F. Coria (ARG) 
ATP – [1] N. Djokovic (SRB) vs [WC] S. Caruso (ITA) 
WTA – V. Azarenka (BLR) vs [WC] V. Williams (USA) 

Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – P. Carreno Busta (ESP) vs [2] R. Nadal (ESP) 
WTA – A. Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs [4] E. Svitolina (UKR) 

PIETRANGELI start 11:00 am
WTA – [6] B. Bencic (SUI) vs [Q] D. Kovinic (MNE) 
WTA – [1] S. Halep (ROU) vs [WC] J. Paolini (ITA) 
ATP – [WC] J. Sinner (ITA) vs [3] S. Tsitsipas (GRE) 
ATP – [Q] M. Cecchinato (ITA) or K. Edmund (GBR) vs F. Krajinovic (SRB) 

Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA – B. Strycova (CZE) vs [2] K. Pliskova (CZE) 


GRAND STAND ARENA start 11:00 am
ATP – M. Cilic (CRO) vs [6] D. Goffin (BEL) 
ATP – [WC] S. Travaglia (ITA) vs B. Coric (CRO) 
WTA – D. Yastremska (UKR) vs A. Anisimova (USA) 
ATP – [15] G. Dimitrov (BUL) vs Y. Nishioka (JPN) or M. Kecmanovic (SRB) 

#NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti earned the biggest win of his young career Tuesday evening at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, stunning three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka 6-0, 7-6(2) in the first round. This is the 18-year-old’s first ATP Tour victory.

Musetti had only played one tour-level match before facing the former World No. 3 in Rome. But the teen, who won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw, showed few nerves at the Foro Italico. He displayed an aggressive all-court game to oust Wawrinka after one hour and 24 minutes.

“I have seen him play on television and I know he is a very tough player,” said Musetti, who will play Kei Nishikori in the second round. “I’m going to enjoy the victory before I start thinking about my match against Nishikori.”

After a first set full of unforced errors off Wawrinka’s racquet that led him to lose the first eight games, the Swiss raised his level in the second set. The World No. 17 played heavier, safer groundstrokes to work his way back into the match, overcoming an early break deficit to get back on serve. But Musetti was undeterred, showing no fear from the baseline or in the forecourt.

The teen, at a career-high World No. 249, rose to the occasion in the second-set tie-break. Musetti held his ground on the baseline and controlled points against the 35-year-old, finishing off his victory with a winning cross-court forehand passing shot. 

“First set was almost perfect. Second set he tried to play better,” Musetti said. “He was focussed on the match and he wanted to win the set, but I served really good. I mixed a lot with the wide serve, T and body serve. I think the serve was the key to have the lead of the game.”

Musetti has a free-swinging forehand and an artistic one-handed backhand, which differs from countrymen Matteo Berrettini, Fabio Fognini and Jannik Sinner, who hit a two-handed backhand. Throughout the match Musetti showed great variety on his backhand wing, adding a lot of shape to the ball to push Wawrinka back or taking it early to hit winners down the line.

“This kid’s backhand is incredible!” said former World No. 1 Jim Courier, who broadcasted the match for Tennis Channel.

Musetti also was comfortable coming to net and he used his forehand drop shot in key moments. The 18-year-old also showed good feel for points, guessing the right way on multiple occasions to retrieve Wawrinka overheads.

When Musetti was born, Wawrinka already had earned FedEx ATP Ranking points. The Italian is the first player born in 2002 to win an ATP Tour match. Musetti won 49 per cent of his return points and broke Wawrinka’s serve four times.

Former junior World No. 1 Musetti won the 2019 Australian Open boys’ singles championship, defeating Emilio Nava in the final by winning a 26-point tie-break in the third set. He is the youngest player competing in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Wawrinka, the 2008 Rome finalist, won an ATP Challenger Tour event in Prague last month. This was his 16th consecutive appearance in this event.

Did You Know?
Wawrinka, 35, and Musetti, 18, were the oldest and youngest players in the Rome draw, respectively.

Qualifier Dominik Koepfer completed a remarkable comeback, which included saving one match point at 4-5 in the third set against Alex de Minaur, on Tuesday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

De Minaur looked set for a routine win, when he led by a set and 3-0, but Koepfer found a way back for a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) victory in two hours and 33 minutes. Koepfer, who is making his ATP Masters 1000 tournament debut at the Foro Italico this week, will now challenge fifth seed Gael Monfils in the second round.

Koepfer won seven straight games before De Minaur broke in the third game of the decider, one of 13 service breaks in the match. De Minaur held a match point at 5-4, with Koepfer serving at 30/40, but the Australian overhit a forehand. In the next game, a poor forehand volley on break point cost De Minaur, and Koepfer then held to 15 for a 6-5 lead. The World No. 97 kept fighting and held his nerve in the tie-break.

Last week, 21-year-old De Minaur became the youngest Australian to reach the US Open quarter-finals since former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, 21, in 2002.

Denis Shapovalov, the No. 12 seed, takes on Guido Pella on Centrale, the main stadium court, later today. The winner plays qualifier Pedro Martinez, who defeated Sam Querrey 6-3, 7-6(3).

Ninth seed Andrey Rublev made a winning start on his Internazionali BNL d’Italia debut on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over qualifier Facundo Bagnis in one hour and 38 minutes. He now plays Hubert Hurkacz in the Rome second round.

Rublev, who hit 25 winners for his 20th match win of the season (20-5), took a 3-0 lead in the first set and proved to be too strong in baseline rallies. He broke Bagnis at 3-3 in the second set and finished with a drop shot winner.

Last week, 22-year-old Rublev advanced to his second US Open quarter-final (also 2017), losing to Daniil Medvedev. Prior to the suspension of the ATP Tour, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rublev had won two ATP Tour titles this year at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (d. Moutet) and at the Adelaide International (d. Harris).

Elsewhere, John Millman recovered from 2-4 down in the second set to overcome lucky loser Joao Sousa 7-5, 7-6(2) in two hours and four minutes. He now challenges eighth seed Diego Schwartzman.