Bolelli and Vavassori reach ATP Finals, Musetti beats Tiafoe in Vienna

Bolelli and Vavassori reach the quarterfinals

On Wednesday, 28 October, the Italian doubles pair Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori beat Alexander Zverev and Marcelo Melo 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 in the first round of the ATP 500 tournament in Vienna. The win put them into the quarterfinals and confirmed their place at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, which they will play for the third straight year. Adnkronos reports that the pair reached the semifinal of the previous edition, the first time an Italian men's doubles pair had done so. Both players also represent Italy in Davis Cup doubles, and this season they won the ATP 500 in Rotterdam and the Masters 1000 titles in Miami and at the Italian Open. Their quarterfinal opponent will be the winner of the match between Guido Andreozzi and Manuel Guinard and the pair of Robert Cash and Alexander Erler.

Heliovaara and Patten also advance

In the other half of the draw, Finland's Harri Heliovaara and Britain's Henry Patten beat American Austin Krajicek and Croatian Nikola Mektic 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 10-8 to reach the quarterfinals. They lost the opening set on a tie-break before winning the next two sets. Their next opponents will be the winner of the match between Austrians Lucas Miedler and Neil Oberleitner and the pair of Czech Petr Nouza and New Zealander Michael Venus. That match had not yet been played when the reports were published, so that quarterfinal line-up is still open.

Musetti opens in Vienna with a win over Tiafoe

Lorenzo Musetti, ranked 26th in the world, made his ATP 500 debut in Vienna by beating American Frances Tiafoe, the ninth-ranked player and fourth seed, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 in two hours and seven minutes. Reports differ on the first-set tie-break score: Adnkronos gives 8-6, while Il Messaggero and Il Fatto Quotidiano print 7-6 (6). Musetti broke Tiafoe at 5-5 in the second set and closed it out by winning his service game to love. He arrives in Vienna fresh from winning the ATP 250 tournament in Lyon. In the next round he meets Britain's Arthur Fery, ranked 35th and a semifinalist at Wimbledon this year. Fery advanced after his compatriot Jacob Fearnley retired at 5-1 in the first set, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Cobolli and Berrettini meet in a Rome derby

On Thursday, 29 October, Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Berrettini meet in the round of 16 in Vienna, the first time the two Romans have faced each other on the ATP Tour. Cobolli is seeded fourth and is chasing points for a place at the Finals. The two are childhood friends who won the Davis Cup for Italy a year ago, winning all of their points in the Final 8. Berrettini is not in the squad for the next Davis Cup final phase, which adds a motive of his own to the match. On the same day Luciano Darderi, who beat Matteo Arnaldi in an all-Italian derby, faces Tommy Paul.

What the results mean for the Turin race

Il Messaggero says Tiafoe's first-round defeat leaves him eighth in the ATP Finals race, the last qualifying place before Turin, and exposes him to overtaking by Rafa Jodar, De Minaur and Djokovic. The same outlet says Musetti's win keeps alive the hopes of his friend and compatriot Flavio Cobolli of qualifying. Il Messaggero also reports that Filippo Volandri has included Musetti among the players pre-selected for the Davis Cup Final 8. Bolelli and Vavassori's qualification is the only one confirmed in the reports so far, and the rest of the race remains open.