In their second meeting at tour level, World No. 80 Roberto Carballes Baena turned the tables to beat home favorite Matteo Berrettini, 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-5 after three hours and 19 minutes.
In his on-court interview, he outlined: “I’m very happy, it’s a very good win for me, the best of my career.”
Adding: “I just tried to win every point, to be focused every point, and tried to return the serve, because he served very well. I’m very happy because I am in the next round.”
Throughout the thrilling encounter, the 29-year-old from Tenerife displayed exceptional tennis.
Serving well and returning even better, the Spaniard found his way back to victory from a set down; wise on defense, he overpowered Berrettini’s big serve and stunning forehand, advancing to the next round of the ATP 250 event.
On Wednesday, the World No. 16, seeking to reach his 27th career quarterfinal, hit the court to face the Spanish player, setting off what would be a short-lived campaign in Florence.
A tight opener unfolded into a 7-5 win for the local player, who prevailed over an inspired adversary in one hour and 10 minutes.
The high-quality set saw the Roman winning an impressive 90 percent of his first-serve points, breaking his opponent twice, before taking a 1-0 advantage ahead of the second set on Campo Centrale.
The margins became too thin in the second set to allow errors, just as Berrettini consistency with his serve dropped, which cost him high.
Meanwhile, carving out the court, the Spaniard build his way back through the match, winning exceptional rallies with confidence.
The Italian fought back, and his attempt to recover led to a second-set tiebreak he lost 5-7.
Game-wise, the 2018 Ecuador Open champion made the impossible, setting the score one set apiece, forcing a decider on Italian soil after over two hours of play.
The 7-time ATP titlist broke first in the final set, holding his nerve to take a 5-2 lead.
However, what seemed a comfortable advantage, began to disappear when he got broken, serving for the match at 5-3.
Carballes Baena won three games in a row to come back from 2-5 to 5-5, and in the eleventh game, he broke Berrettini for the second time in the set, following to serve for the match, sealing a much-deserved triumph.
Both players gave their everything on court, albeit, in the deciding moments, the Spanish player found breathing room to make the difference.
“I tried to be aggressive with the second serve,” he asserted. “I tried to go to the net. I tried to be solid. I tried to play a great match, and I think I did.”
Overall, Carballes Baena won 61 percent of his first-serve points to Berretini’s 77 percent.
In addition, he converted all of five breakpoint opportunities, firing four aces and committing five double faults.
On Friday, he will face Sweden qualifier Mikael Ymer, who put out World No. 39 Aslan Karatsev, 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-1.
Ymer and Carballes Baena faced one another on Tour once in Roland Garros last year; the former edged the latter in five sets.
The City of Florence is welcoming an ATP event for the first time since 1994, having received a single-year license to stage the ATP 250 tournament.