FILE PHOTO: Tennis - ATP 500 - Rio Open - Jockey Club Brasileiro, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - February 20, 2022 Italy's Matteo Berrettini reacts during his quarter final match against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz Garfia REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
(Reuters) - World number 10 Matteo Berrettini made his return to the court with a 6-2 4-6 6-3 victory over Radu Albot in Stuttgart on Wednesday, nearly three months after suffering a hand injury.
The Italian, who won the ATP 250 grasscourt event in 2019, underwent surgery in March and skipped the French Open as well as Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.
The 26-year-old was dominant on his first serve and also fired down 21 aces against qualifier Albot to reach the quarter-finals.
Berrettini is the second seed behind world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas in Stuttgart, which opens the grasscourt swing ahead of Wimbledon.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
