Il Challenger di Napoli vede trionfare Passaro: Brancaccio manca 7 match point e cede a Herbert
Raul Brancaccio, ranked 321st in the world, was defeated by the Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert, currently ranked 160th, with a score of 3-6, 7-5, 6-0. The match was essentially decided in an endless tenth game of the second set, where the Frenchman saved seven match points with spontaneous yet effective solutions: a full repertoire was on display, with unexpected volleys, drop shots, even a mishit smash bouncing on the line, quick reflex volleys, and underarm serves. A game worthy of a novel that Herbert, a former world number 2 in doubles, closed out on his fourth set point after a couple of applause-worthy serve and volley combinations. Brancaccio, who lost his serve in the following game despite being up 40-0, never won another game.
It was a close call for Italy to celebrate two victories at the end of the day. Raoul Brancaccio, facing off against Pierre-Hugues Herbert and leading by a set, had seven match points in the tenth game of the second set to close out the match, having already taken a 4-1 lead.
However, the Frenchman utilized his entire range of skills to cancel out all seven opportunities created by the Italian, managing to break Brancaccio’s serve in the next game and consolidating the unexpected break in the twelfth game to level the match at 1-1.
As play resumed, Brancaccio struggled to regain momentum. Neither the rain, which had been threatening the skies of Naples for several minutes, nor the crowd now solidly behind Herbert’s initiatives, provided any assistance; and so, with errors piling up and winners flowing from the Frenchman, the match took on the appearance of a slow torture from which the Italian could not escape, leading to a defeat that, regardless of the context and timing, is likely to burn long in the memory of the Campanian tennis player.
