ATP250 in Morocco. Bellucci, a good start: she beats Russian Kotov and is in the eighth finals in Marrakech

Successful seasonal debut on clay for Mattia Bellucci, engaged in the first round of the ATP250 in Marrakech, Morocco. The 23-year-old from Busto Arsizio, number 71 in the world, defeated the Russian Pavel Kotov (number 107 ATP) with the score of 6/4, 6/4 in just over an hour and a half of play. After a slow start (0/3 in a few minutes), the student of Fabio Chiappini at the Malpensa Tennis Academy changed gear decisively, stringing together five consecutive games that led him to serve for the set in the tenth game, where he held serve to love. The second partial was decided by a break in the third game, defended until the end, after having saved a dangerous break point in the tenth that would have put the Russian back in the game. For Bellucci, it was the first match played on clay since Roland Garros last season, in which he had taken part in just two tournaments on this surface (the other was the challenger in Turin and on both occasions starting from the qualifications), playing seven matches in total. The victory against the Russian represents his first success on clay in a tournament of the major circuit, which ends a negative streak of four consecutive eliminations in the first round (Acapulco, Indian Wells, Cap Cana and Miami, all on hard courts). In the second round, the Italian will meet Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who beat Coria in three sets.Silvio De Sanctis