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Matteo Berrettini earned another confidence-boosting win on Monday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, where he defeated Gregoire Barrere 6-4, 6-3.
The Italian entered Wimbledon having earned just seven tour-level victories all year, but looked close to his best to reach the fourth round in London. Three weeks on and Berrettini quickly looked in control on the Canadian hard courts, striking the ball with explosive power to fire past the Frenchman Barrere in 76 minutes.
Berrettini has won seven tour-level titles in his career but has yet to triumph on hard courts. The 27-year-old, who is making his debut in Toronto, will next play countryman Jannik Sinner in the second round as he aims to change that record.
Another Italian, Lorenzo Musetti, also advanced on Day 1 at the ATP Masters 1000. The 21-year-old produced a clean-hitting display against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, sealing a 6-4, 6-1 victory after 75 minutes.
Despite rain disrupting the first set, Musetti maintained his concentration, committing just three unforced errors to reach the second round. The 16th seed will next meet Zhang Zhizhen or Thanasi Kokkinakis.
In other action, Jiri Lehecka defeated Brandon Nakashima in a repeat of the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals championship match. The Czech, who fell against American Nakashima in Milan last year, has performed strongly on hard courts this season, reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and semi-finals in Doha. Lehecka will next play third seed Casper Ruud.
Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina moved past American J.J. Wolf 6-0, 6-2, while Francisco Cerundolo beat Canadian wild card Alexis Galarneau 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
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