Sachko Records First ATP Tour Match Win At Moselle Open Metz

Vitaliy Sachko
Vitaliy Sachko (photo: Chryslène Caillard)

METZ/WASHINGTON, November 4, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

When Ukraine’s Vitaliy Sachko gutted out a 7-6 (10), 6-3 victory over No. 59 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France to advance to the second round of the ATP 250 Moselle Open on Monday, it marked his very first ATP Tour main-draw victory outside of Davis Cup competition. It was a long time coming for the 28-year-old right-hander from the war-torn Eastern European country.

The soft-spoken, 6-foot-2-inch native of Kremenchuk, an industrial city in central Ukraine, earned his first ranking point at age 17 back in 2014. Then, Sachko broke into the Top 500 in 2020 and made his Top 200 debut in June 2023, after winning his first Challenger title in Bratislava. He achieved a career-high No. 156 the next month.

Currently ranked No. 222, Sachko is the top-ranked men’s player in Ukraine, a country which boasts three women – No. 14 Elina Svitolina, No. 26 Marta Kostyuk and No. 27 Dayana Yastremska – among the WTA Top 30.

While Sachko owns a 95-105 Challenger win-loss record (including 1-5 in finals), his career on the ATP Tour has been filled with disappointment. After starting 0-7, Sachko gained his first tour-level win by defeating Aziz Dougaz of Tunisia in a 2025 Davis Cup tie. Earlier this year, he reached back-to-back Challenger finals in Barletta, Italy, losing to Dalibor Svrcina of Czechia, and in Monza, Italy, going down to Raphael Collignon of Belgium.

Sachko’s biggest win to date came in June when he defeated World No. 19 Jakub Mensik of Czechia in the first round of a Challenger event in Prostejov, Czechia. It gave him an indication that he was capable of beating better-ranked players than himself such as Mpetshi Perricard, which he did by hitting 18 winners to 16 unforced errors and outpointing his opponent 78-66.

“It was very difficult to return his serve today,” Sachko said during his on-court interview after beating Mpetshi Perricard, despite the Frenchman firing 10 aces. “I think the only thing I was missing was the helmet. It was very fast. Yes, I was happy with my game, how I managed to return his serves. I’m happy with my first win in the main-draw of ATP.”

Sachko became just the third player from Ukraine to win a match at Metz in the 22-year history of the indoor hard court event. He’s also the first Ukrainian since Illya Marchenko in 2021 to win an ATP Tour match.

Since losing in the first round of qualifying at the US Open, Sachko’s has bounced around Europe while competing in a variety of ATP Challenger Tour events. His itinerary has included tournament stops in Tulln, Austria; Szczecin, Poland; Bad Waltersdorf, Austria; Roanne and Brest, France; and Bratislava, Slovakia. His best recent result came in Szczecin, where he reached the quarterfinal round. In all competitions this season, he’s 39-30.

After gaining a berth in the Metz main draw as a lucky loser, Sachko’s impressive victory over Mpetshi Perricard earned him a second-round encounter against World No. 13 and third seed Alexander Bublik, who was a semifinalist at the Rolex Paris Masters last week. Although it will be their first meeting at tour-level Wednesday evening, Bublik is a familiar foe.

“We know each other. I’ve known Sascha since childhood,” Sachko said. “He’s an unbelievable player. He’s having an incredible season. In today’s match, I was returning one big server guy. So, I think I’m ready to return against another big-serving guy.”

Sachko admits he looks forward to another Court Central experience. His tussle with Bublik will be one of two featured evening matches. “The atmosphere was amazing,” he said, looking back at his momentous win on Monday. In addressing the crowd he added: “Thank you for more supporting Giovanni but I enjoyed it so much.”

Altmaier looks to build upon his late-season form

Although Daniel Altmaier has struggled to produce consistent results, as his 2025 win-loss record of 21-27 will attest, he’s strung together a pair of Top-30 wins in his past two tournaments. Last week, the 46th-ranked German defeated World No. 9 Casper Ruud in the second round at the Rolex Paris Masters. 

On Tuesday, Altmaier took out No. 28 Arthur Rinderknech of France, the top-ranked French competitor in Metz this week, 6-4, 6-4, in one hour and 25 minutes to start Tuesday’s play on Court Central. The victory improved Altmaeier to 12-32 versus Top-30 opponents – 21-27 overall this season. He has earned 14 of his 21 wins in 2025 on hard courts, highlighted by quarterfinal runs in back-to-back weeks in Rotterdam and Marseille indoors last February.

Altmaier fired 13 aces, hit 30 winners overall – including one on match point – and saved both break points he faced from Rinderknech, whose win-loss record fell to 27-28. Altmaier broke Rinderknech once in each set and outpointed the Frenchman 70-62. Next, he will oppose 98th-ranked French wild card Hugo Gaston in the second round on Wednesday.

“I was returning pretty well. I’ve been returning better the past week,” Altmaier said during his on-court interview. “I tried to stay in that rhythm and to be focused. I think it was very important to get the first break right away. It gave me a little bit of air, then the second set was a battle until I got the last break.”

Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Rinderknech came in 11-2 versus players ranked outside the Top 10 since the US Open, with both of his losses coming against his cousin, Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, first at Shanghai in the title match last month and last week in the second round at Paris. 

Although Rinderknech returned to the status of French No. 1 on Monday for the first time since January 2023 and his 27 wins ranked him third-best among French men’s players this season, the Gassin native came out flat against Altmaier and lacked the spark he showed in winning seven of his previous nine matches in back-to-back Masters 1000 events. Now, Rinderknech’s 2025 season has ended but not before he’s positioned himself well enough to be seeded at the 2026 Australian Open just two months from now. Stay tuned.

As for Altmaier, he looks forward to finishing 2025 on a winning note this week. “I’ve been playing well throughout the year,” he said. “I’ve had my ups and downs but definitely lots of good weeks which I can build on. Now, I think it is very important to stay focused through the last tournament of the year. Ideally, I hope it goes on.”

Around Les Arenes des Metz

• No. 31 Corentin Moutet, the top-ranked French player entered at Metz this week, was unable to convert a pair of match points against No. 87 Aleksandar Vukic of Australia during their first-round match on Court Central Tuesday afternoon. Sometimes, the mercurial Frenchman from Paris is his own worst enemy. The talented lefty, who entered the tournament with a career-high ranking and was seeded No. 8, wound up losing to Vukic in a third-set tie-break that stretched to 18 points. The Australian cashed in on his fourth match-point opportunity during the tie-break to win, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (8), in two hours and 42 minutes.

Vukic overcame 45 unforced errors to pound out 39 winners against Moutet, who countered with 35 winners – including 12 aces – but also committed 40 unforced errors of his own. Vukic was outpointed 115-111 but proved to be the steadier player under pressure in defeating Moutet for the second time in two career meetings. It was his 15th victory of the season and advanced him to Wednesday’s second round against No. 63 Matteo Berrettini of Italy.

• In a spirited battle among Italian Davis Cup teammates, 2022 Metz champion Lorenzo Sonego overcame World No. 22 and fourth seed Flavio Cobolli to accrue a comeback win, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, in two hours and seven minutes. Sonego’s 24th victory advanced him into Thursday’s quarterfinal round.

The 30-year-old Sonego, who is seven year’s Cobolli’s senior, broke his long-time friend for the second time in the match to go ahead 6-5 in the decider and won on his first match-point opportunity.

“We’ve practice together for six to seven years,” Sonego said during his on-court interview afterward. “He’s a nice guy, a good friend. It’s tough to play against him. He played amazing in the first set. I know it’s the last tournament of the year and he’s tired. I’m happy for myself.”

When Sonego was reminded during his interview that he had beaten another friend and Italian Davis Cup teammate, Lorenzo Musetti, to win the 2022 Metz title, perhaps, Jannik Sinner is the next Italian player for him to conquer? It drew a polite laugh from the Turin native. “Well, we have big love for him. He’s No. 1 in the world,” he said.

The 42nd-ranked Sonego finished with 18 winners to 16 unforced errors against the high-risk, high-reward play of Cobolli, who compiled 37 winners – 26 of them off his forehand side – but also committed 40 unforced errors. Sonego outpointed Cobolli 90-85. He will await the winner of the Daniel Altmaier–Hugo Gaston second-round match.

• No. 7 seed Cameron Norrie of England and No. 69 Arthur Cazaux of France burned the midnight oil in Metz during their second-round match before the 27th-ranked British No. 2 finally prevailed, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (7), 6-2, in two hours and 46 minutes. During the second-set tie-break, Cazaux came within two points of a victory before Norrie evened the match by winning the set on his third set-point opportunity.

Then, Norrie dominated the decider as Cazaux fought through back stiffness and leg cramps. By the conclusion, despite 18 service aces and 40 winners overall by the Frenchman, Norrie won to advance to the quarterfinal round. He struck 36 winners – 24 of them from his forehand side – to 36 unforced errors, which offset his opponent’s performance that included 39 unforced errors.

Now, Norrie is through to his fifth tour-level quarterfinal of the season, while Cazaux was denied back-to-back wins on hard courts for the second time in his career. Next, Norrie will face another French opponent to be determined on Wednesday, either Dan Added or Kyrian Jacquet.

• In an all-French battle, 156th-ranked lucky loser Kyrian Jacquet struck 11 aces and advanced to the second round with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over 172nd-ranked qualifier Luca Van Assche, in two hours and 27 minutes on Court 1. Next, he will face another lucky loser, No. 204 Dan Added of France, who was added to the main draw as a replacement for World No. 8 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada. The top-seeded Auger-Aliassime withdrew from the tournament Monday afternoon due to a left knee injury.

• Also, 102nd-ranked Alexander Blockx of Belgium solidified his fourth-place standing in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah for next month’s Next Gen ATP Finals after defeating 129th-ranked qualifier Francesco Passaro of Italy, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 56 minutes on Court 1 in back of 16 service aces. Blockx outpointed Passaro 101-95. Next, he will face 243rd-ranked French qualifier Clement Tabur in the second round on Wednesday.

• In doubles, No. 2 seeds Sander Arends of the Netherlands and Luke Johnson of Great Britain advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 6-1, 6-4 win over N. Sriram Balaji of India and Hendrik Jebens of Germany, while No. 4 seeds Fernando Romboli of Brazil and John-Patrick Smith of Australia were upset by French duo Quentin Halys and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, 4-6, 6-2, 10-4. Unseeded Constantin Frantzen of Germany and Robin Haase of the Netherlands advanced with a 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 win over French wild cards Ugo Blanchet and Kyrian Jacquet, and Brazil’s Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo defeated Ray Ho of Taiwan and Matthew Christopher Romios of Australia, 7-5, 6-3.

Tuesday’s Moselle Open results

Wednesday’s Moselle Open order of play

By the numbers

Daniel Altmaier of Germany has earned 14 of 21 wins this season on hard courts, highlighted by quarterfinal runs in back-to-back weeks in Rotterdam and Marseille indoors last February.

“Quotable …”

“I didn’t play the summer – my body needed a break. I took this break and I came back with a lot of energy, with a lot of love for the game, for the sport I’ve always loved. I’m really happy I’m here. I’m enjoying my first time in Metz. I played a really good match [against Quentin Halys]. So, I think it’s a good place for me.”

– No. 63 Matteo Berrettini of Italy, during his on-court interview following his first-round win over No. 84 Quentin Halys of France Monday evening, which advanced him to the second round against either No. 8 seeds Corentin Moutet or Aleksandar Vukic of Australia.

 

Search

Brigitte Urban
Tennis photographer
camera lens

International Blogs

Florian Heer

Björn Kroll beim Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup: “Wir möchten unseren Spielern eine gute Plattform bieten!”

October 26, 2025

Michael Dickens

The Warrior: Rafael Nadal And His Kingdom Of Clay

May 16, 2025

Podcast

Categories