In the last of this year’s South American clay swing in Santiago, Emilio Nava defeated big hitter Matteo Berrettini in the opening round of the BCI Seguros Chile Open.
A super tough opponent in Berrettini, with a great serve, Emilio Nava
The American, ranked 79th in the world, recorded a 6-3 6-4 victory over the great Italian former top teenager on his debut in the Chilean capital, saving all three break points he faced.
“A super strong opponent in Berrettini, with a big serve,” said Nava after his victory in 87 minutes. “It was going to be a tough battle, especially because of the altitude, but mentally I was ready and I played great. I was positive and just competed.”
Nava, 24, will play Paraguayan qualifier Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in the second round after his Italian opponent, wildcard Francesco Passaro, retired when trailing 6-3 3-3.
Denmark’s Elmer Moller also secured an important first-round victory on Tuesday as he defeated Argentine Roman Andre Burruchuga 7-6(4) 0-6 6-4 for his first ATP Tour main-draw win. He will now face another Argentinian, top-seeded Francisco Cerundolo, for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Also by Vilius Gaubas and Mariano Navone; Lithuanian Gaubas defeated home favorite Matias Soto 6-2 6-3 to book a second-round meeting with Dino Przmic, while Navone advanced after Rio semi-finalist Vit Kopriva retired with the Argentine ahead 3-6 6-0 3-1.
In the evening action, eighth seed Alejandro Tabilo was a 7-5 6-3 winner in an all-Chilean clash with Tomas Barrios Vera, while home favorite Cristian Garin fought back for a 3-6 6-3 6-3 win over Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina.
Earlier, Santiago native Jarry made his sixth consecutive appearance at the ATP 250 event and hoped to earn his first tour-level win since reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon in July.
Jannick Hanfmann lost just three games in a dominant first-round performance on Monday as he eased past Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-0 6-3. The 34-year-old German scored 22 winners against Lajovic and will next play fourth seed Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
In other action, seventh seed Francisco Comesana saved one match point on his way to victory over Pedro Martinez 6-4 2-6 7-6(4) and will play against qualifier Andrea Pellegrino in the second round, following the Italian’s 6-2 2-6 6-1 victory against Argentine qualifier Alex Barrena.
“It feels great to win,” Pellegrino said. “When you get out of the qualifiers after winning a few matches, it’s always great. In the first set I started very well with good intensity and he missed a little too much. And in the second set it was 2-2 and I lowered my level a bit and he played much better. The third set is always a battle.”
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