Italian Matteo Berrettini defeated Serbian Dusan Lajovic (3/6, 6/4, 6/2) on Thursday and will play in the quarter-finals of the Rio Open, presented by Claro, for the second time. In 2022, he lost to Carlos Alcaraz.

Berrettini, ranked 57th in the world ranking, admitted that he didn't start the match well, but was happy with the victory.

“It rained a lot and the clay court conditions were completely different from the previous day, the game slowed down and Dusan was playing very well. I found a way to turn the match around and I'm really proud of that.”

Berrettini will try to reach an ATP Tour semifinal after 19 months, since winning the ATP 250 in Kitzbuhel, Austria. He will face Peruvian Ignacio Buse on Friday, who defeated Brazilian João Fonseca.