two derbies and the debut of Schwartzman and Kokkinakis

Cagliari – The stands of the Central almost full on Monday for the matches of the first qualifying round, also on a very cordial day in Cagliari for the Sant’Efisio Festival, say a lot about the desire for tennis of the enthusiasts who flocked to Sardinia Open, a Premium event of the newborn category ATP Challenger 175. The appointment of the Tennis Club Cagliari will try to nourish this passion on a Tuesday full of interesting challenges and prestigious names: on the clay of the Club Monte Urpinu it is the day of the start of the main draw, and there will be a show in the morning when at 11am – at the Central – the blue derby is played between Andrea Vavassori’s serve & volley (fresh from beating Andy Murray in Madrid) and Giulio Zeppieri’s left-footed press. Next spot for the high-speed duel between Nikoloz Basilashvili and Thanasi Kokkinakis, an Australian who has managed to beat Roger Federer in his career but is still looking for the recipe that will allow him to fully realize his enormous potential. Not before 3:30 p.m. the other blue derby of the first round between the number 7 seeded Marco Cecchinato (the only Italian among the top seeders) and Francesco Passaro, while the key game of the day opens the first evening session of the tournament, which will last until Friday from 7.30 p.m. will propose a single and a double. On the field, the quirky Mattia Bellucci, one of the young talents of Italian tennis, and the Argentinian Diego Schwartzman, former number 8 in the world: one who only reached the semi-finals of Roland Garros three years ago and played the ATP Finals.