Former Champ Zverev Ousted In Rome; Big 3 – Federer, Nadal, Djokovic – On Big Wednesday
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Things are continued to spiral downward for Alexander Zverev. The German who won Rome in 2017 and made the finals a year ago, was bounced in his first match by home favorite Matteo Berrettini in straight sets 7-5, 7-5.
The 23-year-old Berrettini was no slouch after winning Budapest and Munich back-to-back in the last month. This was his first Top 10 win and it thrilled his Italian crowd.
Zverev will drop out of the Top 4 and heads into the French Open with just one semifinal on the season, a final run in Acapulco.
“Environment was great. The match that I played was horrendous,” said Zverev who is just 5-6 this clay season.
One other seeded fell as Nick Kyrgios suddenly showed up and upended Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. In typical fashion, Kyrgios began the match with an underhand serve.
After a poor first four months, Karen Khachanov won again beating Roberto Bautista Agut in three. Borna Coric also advanced to the third round and his countryman Marin Cilic was a winner.
In a few other upsets, David Goffin came from a set down to beat Stan Wawrinka. Qualifier Taylor Fritz shocked one of the clay win leaders in Guido Pella and Joao Sousa needed a final set breaker to oust Frances Tiafoe.
On a very big Wednesday, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and 8-time champion Rafael Nadal all in action. With late day rains forecasted, Federer will make a rare 11am appearance as he faces Sousa. Djokovic duels Denis Shapovalov while Nadal gets Jeremy Chardy.
Juan Martin del Potro also continues his comeback against Goffin.
WEDNESDAY ROME SCHEDULE
Centrale 11:00 Am
2nd Rd Joao Sousa v 3 Roger Federer
2nd Rd Jeremy Chardy v 2 Rafael Nadal
2nd Rd 1 Naomi Osaka v Dominika Cibulkova
Not Before 7:30 Pm
2nd Rd 1 Novak Djokovic v Denis Shapovalov
Not Before 9:00 Pm
2nd Rd 14 Anett Kontaveit v (Q) Maria Sakkari
Grandstand 11:00 Am
2nd Rd (LL) Amanda Anisimova v 6 Kiki Bertens
2nd Rd 5 Dominic Thiem v Fernando Verdasco
2nd Rd Radu Albot v 10 Fabio Fognini
2nd Rd Yulia Putintseva v 2 Petra Kvitova
2nd Rd David Goffin v 7 Juan Martin del Potro
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