Former world number 6, Berrettini suffers from cramps at the end of the match in Indian Wells.

The 29-year-old Italian took almost three hours to defeat Mannarino.

Former world number 6 and current number 66, Matteo Berrettini needed no less than 2 hours and 48 minutes to win his opening match at the Indian Wells Masters 1000 on Wednesday. And, at the end of the match, suffering from cramps, the Italian didn’t even manage to go to the net to congratulate Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (ranked 48th), who was defeated 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.

The Italian tennis player had difficulty even getting up, and his rival crossed the net to congratulate him on his victory.

At 29 years old and with 10 ATP titles under his belt, Berrettini is participating in the California tournament for the fifth time. His best result so far was reaching the round of 16, winning two matches, in 2022.

The Italian tennis player’s next opponent will be German Alexander Zverev, ranked fourth in the world, who last weekend won the doubles title at the ATP 500 Acapulco tournament with Brazilian Marcelo Melo. It was the partnership’s first title.

This will be the eighth match between the German and the Italian. Zverev holds the advantage in head-to-head matches with four wins. Berrettini, on the other hand, prevailed in their last encounter, in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 last year.