Matteo Berrettini wins, Fabio Fognini bows out in Antalya

Fabio Fognini and Matteo Berrettini led the Antalya Open action, trying to reach the quarter-final and remain on the title course. While Berrettini scored a convincing victory, Fognini fell in three tie breaks.

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After only two victories in the entire 2020, Jeremy Chardy has already accomplished that feat at the beginning of the new season. The Frenchman prevailed over Fabio Fognini 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 in two hours and 53 minutes, reaching his first quarter-final since Moscow 2019 and remaining on the course towards the first ATP title since 2009! Chardy won one point more than Fognini, staying calm in the deciding tie break to cross the finish line first and beat the rival who gave his best.

Both players grabbed five breaks, and there wasn't much to separate them, staying neck and neck until the closing stages of every set for the longest and most exciting match of the season so far. Jeremy led 4-1 in the opener before Fabio bounced back, saving set points in games ten and 12 to reach a tie break that Chardy claimed 7-4. The Frenchman rattled off four straight games from 4-1 down in set number two to open a 5-4 lead and serve for the victory.

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With no room for errors, the Italian broke back at love to level the score at 5-5, gathering momentum and taking the breaker 7-1 to force a decider. From 3-0 down, Fabio bounced back to the scoreboard's positive side, and they traded breaks in games 11 and 12 to set the deciding tie break. At 5-5, Chardy grabbed a mini-break and sealed the deal in the 12th point on his serve to prevail and enter the last eight.

The top seed Matteo Berrettini toppled Dimitar Kuzmanov 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and eight minutes, marching into the quarters. The Italian lost serve once while serving for the victory at 6-2, 5-2, leaving that game behind him and earning the fifth break in the ninth game to move over the top in style.

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