Spanish tennis player Martín Landaluce, ranked 94th in the world, qualified for the round of 16 of the Rome Masters 1000 after defeating Italian Mattia Bellucci 6-4, 6-3. Landaluce, who entered the tournament as a lucky loser, did not lose his serve in one hour and 47 minutes of play. He achieved a key break in the ninth game of the first set and strung together three consecutive games in the second set to close the match on his third match point.
The serve as a technical weapon on clay 🎾
Landaluce based his victory on a solid serve that did not concede any break opportunities to Bellucci. His first serve averaged speeds close to 200 km/h, allowing him to dominate short points and avoid long rallies from the baseline. The break in the ninth game of the first set came after a series of deep forehands that unsettled the Italian. In the second set, his consistency on return and ability to vary the height of his shots gave him the decisive advantage.
Lucky loser, but with real luck 🍀
Martín Landaluce arrived in Rome as a lucky loser, a term that sounds like a consolation prize. But judging by what we've seen, maybe they should call him a lucky winner. He lost in qualifying, entered through the back door, and is now in the round of 16 without having dropped a single service game. If he keeps this up, the organizers will have to review the qualification system or simply roll out a red carpet for direct entry.