Daniel Altmaier fought back from two match points down to defeat Zhang Zhizhen 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in the Italian Open first round, securing his first ATP Masters 1000 match win of the season. The victory sets up a second-round showdown with two-time Rome champion Alexander Zverev, who leads their head-to-head series 3-1.
Yannick Hanfmann and Jan-Lennard Struff also progressed in the tournament. Hanfmann overcame former Top-10 player Hubert Hurkacz 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 6-2 to advance to a second-round match against 18th seed Luciano Darderi. Meanwhile, Struff defeated Francisco Comesana 6-2, 6-4 and is now set to face 11th seed Jiri Lehecka in the next round, as reported by ATP.
Home favorite Matteo Arnaldi continued his good form by winning a tough first-round match against Jaume Munar. Arnaldi, who recently won the ATP Challenger 175 event in Cagliari, secured a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory for his first tour-level match win this year. He will now face sixth seed Alex de Minaur for a place in the third round.
Sebastian Baez and Nuno Borges were among the other winners on Day 1 at the Foro Italico. Baez clinched a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6(8) victory over Jenson Brooksby and is scheduled to play ninth seed Alexander Bublik next. On the other hand, Portuguese player Borges cruised past qualifier Jesper de Jong with a 6-3, 6-0 win and will meet Rafael Jodar in the second round.
In the women’s singles event, Alexandra Eala, the sole player from the Philippines in the Italian Open during the Open Era, staged a comeback from a break down in the final set to defeat Poland’s Magdalena Frech. Eala’s 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 victory in 2 hours and 21 minutes marked her 15th main-draw win on the WTA Tour this season, the most by a left-handed player. She will now face 31st seed Wang Xinyu in the second round, who previously defeated her in a three-set match in January.
