Tennis, Internationals: Berrettini wins the derby with Travaglia and goes to the quarters. Sinner eliminated

ROMA – One in three at the moment. There is only one Italian who goes to the quarter-finals of the Internazionali Bnl d’Italia and it is Matteo Berrettini, who wins in the all-blue match against Stefano Travaglia. Instead Jannik Sinner comes out among the applause, but also among the regrets against Grigor Dimitrov, defeated in the third set after having imposed himself in the first (6-4) and then having had to collect the reaction of the Bulgarian (6-4) in the second. In the third set it was Dimitrov who showed more attitude, and went to 5-2. But here the South Tyrolean showed his great qualities, refusing to lose and starting a comeback of his own. Until 4-5, however. Because, on his serve, he was unable to reappear the match despite the four match points canceled. Why remorse? Because in the fifth match point against, Sinner put in a smash that seemed easy enough, to put it mildly. Too bad, but all the good things that Jannik showed, and will show in the future, remain confirmed.

A completely different game, even more intense, that between Berrettini and Travaglia, which ended in two sets (7-6, 7-6), in favor of no. 8 of the world. “I knew it would be tough, I was good at being ready, telling me that there would be another point later to play” said Berrettini, acknowledging Travaglia’s merits and progress. “These games are a bit like that, he too is playing very well and this was the first time we faced each other”.

However, it is really true, as claimed by a former tennis teacher and today television commentator, Mauro Ricevuti, that “derbies are bad games that should never happen”. In the moral sense, not in the aesthetic one, let’s be clear: Berrettini and Travaglia played them, as they say, they played the game without looking each other in the face. And the two tie-breaks confirm the balance and the desire of both not to want to lose. In the end the younger, the more powerful prevailed. The first of the two is more balanced, the second without history. But Travaglia was also good at recovering from 3-5 in the match, and then canceling a match point. The Roman tennis player, Berrettini, shows that he is not yet in top form, but has further improved (on clay) and confirms his uncommon competitive skills.
Now all that remains is to wait for Lorenzo Musetti’s match against the German Koepfer, hoping that he will still be the protagonist.- .