Hamburg European Open: Italian Lorenzo Musetti reaches first ATP final- Lorenzo Musetti has broken through to his first ATP Tour final at the Hamburg European Open behind a Saturday semi-final victory against the red-hot Francisco Cerundolo. The #NextGenATP Italian dominated the first half of the contest but navigated a nervy finish to secure a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory. Follow Latest Tennis updates on InsideSport.IN
“It means a lot for me,” Musetti said of reaching his first tour-level title match. “It’s a surprise for me because I was not playing my best tennis last week [in Bastad], so I didn’t expect to be in the final here.”
Hamburg European Open: Italian Lorenzo Musetti reaches first ATP final
First ATP Tour final locked in for @Lorenzo1Musetti! 👏
He advances in Hamburg in straight sets over Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6(3).@hamburgopen | #HamburgOpen pic.twitter.com/zaN6Y3L32b
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 23, 2022
On his first match point at 5-4, A/40 in the second set, Musetti’s underarm serve backfired as Cerundolo reacted quickly to force a difficult, low volley. But after falling behind 1/3 in the tie-break, the 20-year-old closed the match how he started it, dominating proceedings to win the final six points.
“It was not easy because he was playing really good. I was playing under pressure,” the Italian said.
“I saw him so far from the baseline on the ad side. I don’t know why I did the underarm serve, but it didn’t work. At the end I didn’t take the option of the underarm serve. I went for the kick and serve-and-volley and it worked. So I’m really happy.”
Hamburg European Open: Italian Lorenzo Musetti reaches first ATP final
Musetti extended his winning streak to eight consecutive sets on the Hamburg clay after his comeback win against Dusan Lajovic, in which he saved two match points in the opening round. Cerundolo saw his eight-match winning streak, dating back to his Bastad title, ended.
After battling through three deuces to hold in the opening game of the match, the Italian raced to a 5-0 lead in the opening set and then led 2-0 in the second. Musetti was able to neutralise his opponent’s powerful forehand with strong hitting off both baseline wings and dogged retrieving when stretched.
From 1-3 down in the second set, Cerundolo began to find the range on the forehand that has propelled him on his recent run. Hitting the corners, he levelled at 3-3 but then committed a few untimely errors to immediately hand the break back.
Still, he was able to force a tie-break behind more powerful forehands as Musetti failed to serve out the match. Cerundolo appeared to be locked in as he took the lead in the tie-break, but Musetti rediscovered his top form to advance to his first tour-level final in style.
Hamburg European Open: Italian Lorenzo Musetti reaches first ATP final
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