ATP Hamburg: Lorenzo Musetti - master's exam passed
With his spectacular success at the ATP Tour 500 event in Hamburg, Lorenzo Musetti is the tenth player to win a tournament on the ATP Tour for the first time this season.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jul 24, 2022, 11:29 pm
Sunday afternoon had all the ingredients for an epic disaster for Lorenzo Musetti: The 20-year-old Italian was in his first final at ATP Tour level and had Carlos Alcaraz under control like no one had on sand for a long time. And was in the tie-break of the second set 6: 3 in the lead. Well, Musetti was already unable to use two match points when the score was 5: 4, but now it should be time, please. Three penalties later, the score was 6-6, with Musetti completing Act Two with a double fault.
Who would have wanted to bet on Alcaraz losing? It wasn't the best day for the Spaniard to use, but he certainly wouldn't look back now and claim his fifth tournament win of 2022. As is well known, it did not turn out that way. Which is tantamount to passing the master’s exam for Lorenzo Musetti.
The fact that Musetti can play exciting, varied tennis is well known in the scene. Somehow that didn't work so smoothly in the current season, 13 wins faced 16 defeats in Hamburg. At Rothenbaum bankruptcy number 17 almost came in the first round, but Dusan Lajovic couldn't do anything with two match points against Musetti.
Musetti in Umag against Bedene
And now Musetti is not only in position 31 in the ATP charts, which would bring him a placement at the next major in New York City, no, he is also the tenth player to write as a tournament winner for the first time in 2022. And that with a 500 and on the first try. What should not be underestimated: Because Félix Auger-Aliassime needed nine failed attempts before he was finally allowed to hold up a winner's trophy in Rotterdam in February. trauma overcome. Even if "FAA" hasn't even reached a final since then.
But as it is in the tennis circus: Extensive celebrations are almost impossible, for Lorenzo Musetti (and also Carlos Alcaraz) things will continue this week in Umag. While Alcaraz has great ambitions as the defending champion, the expectations of the newly crowned champion of Hamburg should probably be a little lower. Lorenzo Musetti has now impressively demonstrated his mastery. A first-round match against Aljaz Bedene in the heat of Umag could be a stumbling block.