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Moutet uses some trickery to beat Nardi in Naples

US Open Tennis Championship 2022

NEW YORK, USA, September 04: Corentin Moutet of France during the Men’s Singles fourth round match on Arthur Ashe Stadium during the US Open Tennis Championship 2022 at the USTA National Tennis Centre on September 4th 2022 in Flushing, Queens, New York City. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Corbis via Getty Images

NAPLES, Italy -- Corentin Moutet drew whistles from the crowd when he showed off with a bit of trickery as he rallied past 19-year-old Italian wild card Luca Nardi 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the first round of the Napoli Cup.

In the second-set tiebreaker, Moutet faked hitting an overhead by swinging his racket through the air then won the point with a drop shot instead. The 65th-ranked Frenchman required more than 3 1/2 hours to finish Nardi off.

Also on the outdoor hard courts of the Tennis Club Napoli, sixth-seeded Sebastian Baez defeated home favorite Lorenzo Sonego 7-5, 7-6 (3) to end an 11-match losing streak. Roberto Carballes Baena beat Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 6-4 and will next face second-seeded Matteo Berrettini.

Berrettini accepted a late wild card after losing his opening match to Carballes Baena in Florence last week.

Chinese qualifier Zhang Zhizhen was leading Marton Fucsovics 6-2, 2-2 and Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo was leading Laslo Djere 6-4, 5-5 when both matches were suspended because of humidity and slippery conditions on the courts situated next to the bay.

Naples was awarded a single-year license to host the ATP 250-level tournament.