■Matteo Berrettini, who came to Japan for the first time, had an easy victory over Botic van de Zandschulp, who made it through the qualifying round. At the start of the first set, he made a series of mistakes and dropped his serve, but won five games in a row from the second game onward to take control of the match. He injured his right hand and withdrew from the tour after the U.S. Open last September. However, since returning in March of this year, he has been doing well, winning three tour tournaments so far. His characteristic powerful serve was still intact, and he won the first set with two consecutive aces in the 9th game. In the second set, he broke his opponent's serve in the first game, and after that, his forehand strikes were sharp which enabled him to win the game.

■Right before the game, it started to drizzle, and the start of the game was delayed in order to close the roof of the Colosseum. "The temperature was 35 degrees when I came to Japan, but today it was around 20 degrees. It's important in tennis to be able to adapt to such changes in the environment," Berrettini said. “A lot of spectators came from the first round. The atmosphere in the venue was good, and I felt very welcomed." He seemed satisfied.