Villanueva G. defeated Napolitano S. 6-3, 7-6 in the Cordenons first round, capitalising on strong serving in the opening set and a decisive tiebreak in the second. The Spaniard saved five of six break points he faced in the first set and converted two breaks to take control.
The first set saw an early exchange of breaks: Napolitano broke for 2-1, but Villanueva struck back at 3-3 and again at 3-5 to close it out. In the second set, Napolitano broke immediately for 2-0, only for Villanueva to level at 3-2. The set went to a tiebreak, where Villanueva earned the decisive mini-break at 6-7 to seal the match.
Villanueva finished with seven aces and won 69% of points on his first serve (40/58). He saved 71% of break points across the match, while Napolitano converted only two of his four break chances.