Tennis, in Indian Wells Berrettini still convalescing: he loses in the first round

INDIAN WELLS – Who said it never rains in the desert? In Indian Wells, in the so-called tennis paradise (they call it this way: ‘the paradise’), the Bnp PAribas Masters 1000, Matteo Berrettini’s debut was postponed by an hour and a half due to the copious rain in California, after the blue had warmed up in completely different weather conditions (and with sunlight) while his rival, the Japanese Taro Daniel, dribbled with none other than Daniil Medvedev.

Climate change damaged the Roman, who lost (7-6, 0-6, 6-3 for Taro) in the tricky first round. “The ball doesn’t go. I shoot, but it doesn’t go…” Berrettini exclaimed at a certain point in the first set, unhappy with the weather conditions in which he played: he pushed his shots, yet Taro somehow managed to send it back to him and the field, still damp, certainly helped his rival. Yet the start had been promising: he immediately got a break but, at 2-0, an excess (perhaps of confidence) put the Japanese back into the game, and then the balance never shifted. Until the tie-break, with Berrettini always ahead and a 5-3 which foreshadowed the collection. But no: two volleys betrayed him. The first, not played because the passer of the Japanese is considered out. The second, a dull stop volley on the net. And so, even unexpectedly, Taro was able to celebrate.

Here someone else would have felt the psychological blow, but not Berrettini. Who, instead of getting caught up in doubts and remorse, restarted as if nothing had happened. And his mental reset earned him a triple break and the famous egg score, as they say in amateur circles: 6-0.

But too easy to be true, of course: Taro hadn’t dropped out of the game, just paused. And, in the third set, it was he who started by making the decisive escape: 3-0, 4-2 and finally 6-3 after two hours and thirty-nine minutes of match. Berrettini’s final bolt was useless, as he managed to cancel two match points, and then surrendered to the third.

Conclusion: Berrettini is better, but still needs to shake off some rust. He wasn’t the only favorite to fall: even the Greek Tsitsipas had left the tournament prematurely, at the hands of the Australian Thompson. Today, in the Italian evening, the debut of Sinner and Musetti (who, in case of victory, will cross).