ATP Acapulco: The seventh match point sits - teenager Musetti in the semifinals
Lorenzo Musetti is in the semifinals of the ATP Tour 500th tournament in Acapulco. The Italian defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6: 4 and 7: 6 (3) and is now playing against Stefanos Tsitsipas .
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Mar 19, 2021, 08:21 am
Well after midnight, in the final quarterfinals of Acapulco 2021, the players still looked like they had just jumped into a pool in full gear. Lorenzo Musetti and Grigor Dimitrov tried at temperatures of at least 27 degrees for a place in the semi-finals, which went to the Italian after a playing time of 2:08 hours. But not without drama. After winning the first set, Musetti worked with a score of 5: 4 in round two four match points on serve Dimitrov, the Bulgarian fended them off as well as the next at 6: 5 for Musetti.
In the tie-break, the 19-year-old had another chance at 6-2, but the match point had everything that distinguished this match: a forehand stop by Musetti, a not quite optimal smash by Dimtrov, Musetti can counter, Dimitrov puts it Ball out of bounds with the forehand. The outsider had to lie on his back for a few seconds. After all, Lorenzo Muasetti had not won a hard court match before the tournament in Acapulco at ATP level. And this very first win against Diego Schwartzman was not exactly unspectacular: Musetti was only able to use his sixth chance to win the match.
Tsitsipas and Zverev on course for the final
In the semifinals, the tournament favorite is now waiting for Musetti with Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek retained the upper hand against Félix Auger-Aliassime for the third time in a row, winning 7: 5, 4: 6 and 6: 3. Incidentally, this match lasted shorter than the two-set game between Dimitrov and Musetti. By reaching the semi-finals, the Italian will move into the top 100 of the ATP world rankings for the first time.
The second match of the semifinals will be a purely German matter: Alexander Zverev did not even have to play for his quarter-finals, opponent Casper Ruud had withdrawn before the game. Dominik Koepfer, on the other hand, continued his triumphant advance in Acapulco, winning against Cameron Norrie from Great Britain 7: 5 and 6: 4.