Goffin through, Zverev crashes out

ROME: Germany’s Alexander Zverev crashed out of the Italian Open on Tuesday with a 7-5, 7-5 loss to Italian wild card Matteo Berrettini in the second round.The 33rd-ranked Italian survived four break points in the second set, breaking the German in the twelfth game to close 7-5 to the delight of the home crowd. The 22-year-old Zverev had been seeded fourth in the final clay-court warm-up before the French Open later this month, and was playing his first game having received a first-round bye.Belgian David Goffin rallied from a set down to beat former French Open champion Stan Wawrinka in three sets and advance to the second round.The 28-year-old Goffin won through 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in 1hr 55min against the three-time Grand Slam winner from Switzerland to set up a meeting with Argentine seventh seed Jual Martin Del Potro for a place in the third round.Swiss maestro Roger Federer will play his first match on Wednesday (today).Federer insisted Monday his focus at this week’s Italian Open was on getting more match practice on clay ahead of the French Open in two weeks time.Federer has not played on the red clay in the Foro Italico since his third round exit in 2016 having finished runner-up the previous year for the fourth time, losing to Novak Djokovic in the final.“Regardless of what happens here, I just think it’s good for me to play matches at this stage,” said world number three Federer. He has a first-round bye as the number three seed, and will begin his tournament against Portugal’s Joao Sousa, who battled past American Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4) to reach the second round.The 37-year-old’s performance in the Madrid Open last week has boosted his hopes of winning the French Open, a decade after his only title there. Federer is in the same half of the draw as eight-time Rome winner Rafael Nadal, who is looking for his first clay title this season.“I have other problems first getting there,” said Federer, who could meet the Spaniard in the semi-finals. A potential quarter-final awaits against either Stefanos Tsitsipas, the eighth seed, who beat Nadal in the Madrid semi-finals, or Italian 10th seed Fabio Fognini, the Monte Carlo winner.Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic defeated Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Aliza Cornet of France brushed aside Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-1, 6-4.USA’s Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament on Tuesday with a recurring left knee injury handing sister Venus a walkover into the third round.In Tuesday’s statement the 23-time Grand Slam winner insisted she would still be competing in the French Open later this month. “I must withdraw from the Italian Open due to pain in my left knee,” Serena said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing you all at the French Open and next year in Rome.” Serena’s withdrawal comes a day after she beat Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson in straight sets to set up a second round meeting with her older sister Venus.

from The News International - Sports http://bit.ly/2Q6PSoF