London: It took three hours and 20 minutes of fighting, and five sets, but in the end Italy’s Giulio Zeppieri did it and will play in the main draw of Wimbledon for the first time, for the sixth time in a Slam.
According to Ansa News Agency, in the decisive round of qualifications, played on the lawns of Roehampton, the 23-year-old from Latina, n.353 in the ranking, beat the Chilean Cristian Garin, n.109 ATP, 1-6 6-2 6-4 5-7 7-5. The number of Italians at the start of the men’s singles draw therefore rises to 11: Zeppieri joins Sinner, Musetti, Cobolli, Berrettini, Arnaldi, Sonego, Darderi, Bellucci, Nardi and Fognini. The draw is tomorrow.
World number one and three-time slam winner Jannik Sinner is aiming to avenge his recent epic defeat in the French Open’s longest ever final to world number two and five-time slam winner Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, who starts as top seed as two-time and reigning champ of the world’s most iconic tennis championship. The 23-year-old South Tyrolean has won the US Open once and the Australian Open twice. He returned to playing after a three-month doping ban just in time for Roland Garros, where he held three match points against Alcaraz in the fourth set before going down 10-1 in the last set tiebreak.
