Italy has moved to 1-0 in Group C of the ATP Cup after Matteo Berrettini scored two wins in the singles match against Dominic Thiem and in the decisive doubles match alongside Fabio Fognini over the Austrian team.
Berrettini scored a 6-2 6-4 win over Thiem in the singles match to draw Italy level to 1-1 after Dennis Novak’s 6-3 6-2 win over Fabio Fognini. Berrettini returned to John Cain Arena court in Melbourne alongside Fognini to help Italy beat Novak and Thiem 6-1 6-4 in the doubles match.
World number 100 Dennis Novak handed the Austrian team a 1-0 lead after his 6-3 6-2 win over 2019 Monte-Carlo champion Fabio Fognini in 1 hour and 12 minutes after dropping his serve only once. The Austrian player converted four of his ten break points to score one of the biggest win of his career.
Fognini went up an early break in the first game, but Novak rallied from 0-30 down to break straight back at deuce for 1-1 after Fognini made a series of unforced errors. Novak earned another break in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead and held his next three service games to close out the first set 6-3 after 35 minutes.
Fognini saved three break points at the start of the second set, but Novak converted his third break point in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. Fognini had to save another break point in the fifth game, but Novak got another break at 15 in the seventh game to build up a 5-2 lead. The Austrian player sealed the win on his second match point in the 38-minute eighth game.
“Of course, it’s never easy to play against Fabio. You never know what’s coming. I was focusing on myself and I think I did a good job. It was a long wait for today. I have practised since the beginning of December already, so I was really looking forward to today. I was nervous, didn’t sleep that well. I think you could see that in my first service game. I gave a really easy break, but then I tried to fight in the game and then I played really solid”, said Novak.
Fognini was not in his best form after undergoing surgery last year.
In the second singles match 2019 US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini faced just one break point in the whole match against 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem and broke serve four times to take a 6-2 6-4 win after 1 hour and 21 minutes sending the match to the decisive doubles match.
Berrettini has improved his win-loss record to a 3-2 lead in his head-to-head matches over Thiem and his record to 7 wins in 15 matches over top 10 players. The Italian player has scored his first win over a top-10 player since the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, where he also beat Thiem.
Berrettini hit 30 winners, including 5 aces. The world number 10 broke twice in the fifth and seventh games to claim the first set 6-2 and went up a double break to build up a 4-0 lead in the second set. Thiem pulled one break back in the sixth game and held a 15-30 lead as Berrettini was serving for the match. Berrettini served out the match in the 10th game at deuce, as Thiem missed a backhand.
“It was really sad last year to miss the ATP Cup, unfortunately I was injured. I saw the atmosphere in all the cities in Australia. It was a great event. This year I wanted to be here. Playing for your country is something special. I am very happy obviously for myself, but in this competition we are playing for a team, so it’s really nice. I am really happy with my performance. After a difficult 2020 season, which did not go as I wanted, I feel in good health “, said Berrettini.
Berrettini and Fognini earned a 6-1 6-4 win over Novak and Thiem in the doubles match. The Italian stars dropped just nine points. They saved both break points and broke three times. Thiem made a double fault in the fourth game to waste a 40-15 lead and dropped his serve. Berrettini hit a service winner in the fifth game to take a 4-1 lead.
Berrettini his a volley winner at the net in the sixth game to break serve before Fognini held serve at 15 to claim the first set 6-1. Fognini fended off two break points in the sixth game of the second set and hit a volley winner in the next game to break serve. Fognini held serve at 15 with a forehand volley winner to give Italy a 2-1 lead, as he was serving for the win at 5-4.
Fognini and Berrettini won a ATP Tour doubles title in St. Petersburg 2018.
“We are a good team and I have confidence in everyone. Fabio wanted to bounce back after losing the singles match and I knew that Matteo could help him recover from the disappointment. These guys have a great motivation to do their motivation. I am optimistic for the match against France”, said Italian ATP Cup captain Vincenzo Santopadre.
