Brisbane (Australia), Jan. 5 (LaPresse) – Matteo Arnaldi, world No. 61, did not play in the decisive qualifying round of the ATP 250 in Brisbane, held at the Queensland Tennis Centre. However, he was admitted as a lucky loser following the withdrawal of Brazilian Joao Fonseca. In the match for entry into the main draw, the Sanremo native was supposed to face Australian Rinky Hijikata (No. 113, in the draw with a wild card), who had beaten him in both of their previous 2024 encounters, in Delray Beach on hard court and at the Queen’s.
In the main draw, Arnaldi has been placed in the top half of the bracket. He will debut on Monday against German Daniel Altmaier (No. 46 ATP), whom he defeated last year in Washington in their only previous meeting. The winner will face either American Reilly Opelka (52) or Australian Dane Sweeny (182), with a potential quarterfinal clash on the horizon against the top seed Daniil Medvedev (13).
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