Italian Open 2025 Day 1 Recap – Perfect Tennis

The 2025 Internazionali BNL d’Italia launched on Wednesday, May 7th at Rome’s Foro Italico, marking the final ATP Masters 1000 stop before Roland Garros.

Day 1 saw the bottom half of the men’s draw battle in the Round of 128, with no seeded players in action but a packed slate of qualifiers, wildcards, and clay-court veterans vying for momentum on the red dirt.

The absence of top names in the opening stanza is always apparent in these two-week Masters 1000, but players like Alexandre Muller, who saved two match points to stun Jiri Lehecka, and Luciano Darderi who pleased the home crowd by ousting Yunchaokete Bu, helped give the ticket buyers (there were plenty empty seats) some value for money. 

Vilius Gaubas also bagged his first ATP level victory, and Otto Virtanen his first Masters 1000 win after qualifying for a main draw for the very first time, having failed on 22 previous occasions. Perseverance pays off!

Full results from day one below.

Day One Italian Open 2024 Round of 128 Results

Winner
Loser
Scoreline

Luciano Darderi
Yunchaokete Bu
7-6(4) 6-3

Vit Kopriva (Q)
Quentin Halys
6-4 6-3

Corentin Moutet
Rinky Hijikata
3-6 6-1 7-5

Francisco Comesana
Daniel Altmaier
6-1 7-5

Francisco Passaro (WC)
Chin Hsin Tseng (Q)
6-0 2-6 6-3

Roman Andres Burruchaga (Q)
Lorenzo Sonego
6-2 6-3

Laslo Djere
Tomas Martin Etcheverry
6-3 6-2

Dusan Lajovic (Q)
Yoshihito Nishioka
7-5 6-1

Oscar Virtanen (Q)
Hamad Medjedovic
6-4 6-4

Jordan Thompson
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
3-6 6-3 7-6(5)

Carlos Taberner
Aleksandar Kovacevic
6-3 1-6 7-5

Cameron Norrie (LL)
Christopher O’Connell
6-3 6-2

Tallon Griekspoor
Miomir Kecmanovic
4-6 6-3 6-0

Jiri Lehecka
Alexandre Muller
2-6 6-3 7-6(5)

Vilius Gaubas (Q)
Damir Dzhumur
7-6(3) 2-6 6-4

Camio Ugo Carabelli
Pablo Carreno Busta (LL)
6-2 1-6 6-3

Key Matches

Alexandre Muller saved two match points to defeat Jiri Lehecka 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) in a 2-hour, 38-minute clash. Clutch when serving at 4-5 in the third, Muller’s third Top 40 win of 2025 earns him a second-round clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas. Fresh off a Rio final and Madrid R3, the career-high World No. 39 has shown some solid clay-court form. Lehecka will rue his missed return on the second match point and double-faulting when down match point in the tie break.

Jordan Thompson fought tooth and nail, outlasting big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). That’s a flawless 5-0 in their ATP Head2Head. Thompson’s back in Rome’s R2 for the second straight year, with Brandon Nakashima up next. GMP, meanwhile, has had a ropey 2025 after his breakout season last year.

Tallon Griekspoor unleashed 16 aces to dominate Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. “Tough competitor, big battles,” Griekspoor said of their 4-1 Head2Head. Arthur Fils awaits in R2.

Corentin Moutet dazzled with stunning drop shots, overcoming Rinky Hijikata 3-6, 6-1, 7-5. An all-French R2 battle with Ugo Humbert is next.

Roman Andres Burruchaga shone on his ATP Masters 1000 debut, dispatching Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 6-3. Up 14 spots to No. 121 in the live rankings, the 23-year-old faces Karen Khachanov in R2.

Camilo Ugo Carabelli outlasted Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, setting up a clash with Alexander Zverev. 

Highlights

Italian Open 2025 Day 2 Round of 128 Matches