Blockx Stops Cinà in Rome: The Belgian Wins in Three Sets

Alexander Blockx defeated Federico Cinà 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in two hours and one minute in the first round of the Italian Open, completing a comeback in one of the most anticipated Italian matches on Thursday on the clay of the Foro Italico.

The Belgian, twenty-one years old and world number 36 after last week's Madrid semifinal, paid for a first set in which Cinà found the decisive break in the tenth game, in front of a crowd lined up behind the nineteen-year-old from Palermo. From the second set onwards, however, Blockx raised his level on serve, closing with twelve aces, and took away Cinà's reference points from the baseline, leaving him only one game and then managing the lead in the third.

For Cinà, in the draw with a wild card, what remains is the snapshot of a first set played without reverential awe against one of the hottest names of the European spring. For Blockx, twenty-one in early April and best ranking updated just a few days ago, it is confirmation that the Madrid run was no fluke: the next round will give him the measure of how long this surge can last.