Matteo Berrettini upends top-seeded Alex Zverev in Monte Carlo Masters 2nd round

The Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 08, 2025 12:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: 15 minutes ago

Second-ranked Alex Zverev mislaid 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to chap big-hitter Matteo Berrettini successful the 2nd circular of the Monte Carlo Masters connected Tuesday successful Monaco.

The unseeded Berrettini secured triumph erstwhile serving for the lucifer for the 2nd clip and connected his archetypal lucifer constituent against the top-seeded German.

"I wasn't hitting my forehand and service similar I had successful erstwhile days," said Berrettini, who has won 17 of his past 18 matches connected clay. "I told myself to beryllium much aggressive."

Zverev, the French Open runner-up past year, got the assemblage going astatine the archetypal large clay-court tourney of the twelvemonth erstwhile helium won a constituent with a sliced backhand volley astatine the nett successful the 5th game.

But the 28-year-old Berrettini, a Wimbledon runner-up successful 2021, broke successful the seventh crippled of the deciding acceptable and past served for the lucifer astatine 5-4, lone for Zverev to interruption back.

After an aggravated 11th game, featuring a 48-stroke rally astatine deuce won by Berrettini, the Italian earned different interruption of service and different accidental to service retired the match. Victory came erstwhile Zverev's two-handed backhand deed the net.

Berrettini, who adjacent faces either Jiri Lehecka oregon 13th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti, soaked up the applause from the crowd.

The past Italian to triumph the tourney was Fabio Fognini successful 2019, and that twelvemonth helium enjoyed beardown vocal enactment from galore Italians crossing implicit the adjacent border.

In second-round matches aboriginal Tuesday, three-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece began his rubric defence against Australian Jordan Thompson, and U.S. Open semifinalist Jack Draper faced Marcos Giron.

Ailing Rune retires from opening match

In remaining first-round matches Tuesday, Holger Rune of Denmark was trailing 6-2, 3-0 against Nuno Borges erstwhile helium retired aft feeling unwell.

Rune took a aesculapian timeout astatine the extremity of the archetypal set.

"I intelligibly saw that helium wasn't feeling great," Borges said.

No. 15-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov bushed Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-4 connected his seventh lucifer constituent and adjacent meets chaotic paper introduction Valentin Vacherot of Monaco.

There were besides first-round wins for Alexei Popyrin, seasoned Roberto Bautista Agut and Tomas Machac.

On Wednesday, two-time champion Novak Djokovic faces Alejandro Tabilo, who handed the 24-time Grand Slam champion a astonishing nonaccomplishment astatine the Italian Open past year.

Djokovic is seeking the 100th rubric of his vocation and precocious mislaid the Miami Open last to Jakub Mensik.