Landaluce in Rome
/ EFE
The rise of Martín Landaluce shows no signs of slowing down. The 20-year-old from Madrid secured his spot in the round of 16 at the Italian Open on Monday, comfortably defeating Italy’s Mattia Bellucci and extending his unexpected run in the Italian capital.
Having entered the main draw as a lucky loser after falling in the qualifying rounds, the Spaniard once again displayed solid tennis, winning 6-4, 6-3 in less than two hours. Landaluce took control early on and grew stronger as the match progressed, leaving Bellucci visibly frustrated. The turning point came late in the first set, when Landaluce broke the Italian’s serve to take the lead. That blow clearly affected Bellucci’s morale, prompting him to throw his racket in a moment of desperation, while Landaluce continued to dominate from the baseline.
With this victory, Landaluce is set to rise to No. 80 in the ATP rankings and becomes the sixth lucky loser to reach the last 16 in Rome. The player, who trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy, continues his meteoric rise. After breaking into the top 100 this year and reaching the quarterfinals in Miami, Landaluce is proving in Rome that he is already a force in Spanish tennis.
He will now face the winner of the match between Mariano Navone and Hamad Medjedovic for a place in the quarterfinals.
**Davidovich Bows Out**
On the other hand, Alejandro Davidovich could not advance, as he was eliminated in the third round by Russia’s Andrey Rublev. The Malaga native never seemed comfortable in the match and eventually lost 6-4, 6-4 against a solid and aggressive Rublev. Davidovich had chances early in the first set but failed to capitalize, ultimately succumbing to Rublev’s greater power in key moments. In the second set, Rublev broke early and controlled the match, closing out the victory in just over an hour.
The world No. 23 departs Rome after previously defeating Chile’s Cristian Garin, but once again fails to improve on his best result at the tournament—the third round he also reached in 2021 and 2023.
Rublev, meanwhile, advances to the round of 16 and will aim to continue his run in a tournament where he has never surpassed the quarterfinals.
