Matteo Arnaldi vs Rei Sakamoto — R32 — Japan Open

Matteo Arnaldi recovered from a set down to beat Japanese wild card Rei Sakamoto in the Japan Open round of 32. It was only his second hard-court win in nine matches this season. Sakamoto, a 20-year-old ranked 133rd, began the season at ATP No. 200 and reached the second round of the US Open. Arnaldi, ranked 37th, had won their only previous meeting on record, in straight sets at the Shanghai Masters last October. Even so, the betting market had made Sakamoto a narrow favorite. Sakamoto won the opening set 6-2. He broke twice, did not face a break point and won 92 percent of his first-serve points. Arnaldi was not broken again. He won 79 percent of his first-serve points in the second set, up from 54 percent in the first, and converted his only break point of the set to level the match. The deciding set also came down to a single Arnaldi break, and he saved both break points he faced. Sakamoto saved a match point before Arnaldi completed the win after 2 hours and 8 minutes.