Lorenzo Musetti applauds Naomi Osaka
Italy's young talent Lorenzo Musetti praised Naomi Osaka for her social commitment at the US Open in an interview with Esquire magazine.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Oct 31, 2020, 06:56 pm
You don't have to worry about the next generation of Italian tennis players: Jannik Sinner, 19 years old, has established himself in the top 100, and Lorenzo Musetti, who is one year younger and who has won the ATP Challenger tournament, comes up from behind in Forli is already at position 124 on the ATP charts. Before his win in Forli, Musetti had caused a sensation at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, beating Stan Wawrinka after qualifying first and Kei Nishikori in round two, before the end of Dominik Koepfer. A few days ago the 18-year-old reached the first semifinals of an ATP Tour 250 tournament in Cagliari, where he had to give up in the third set against Laslo Djere.
These successes attract attention. And have now brought Lorenzo Musetti into an interview with Esquire magazine. In it, the Italian not only expresses himself on tennis issues, but also takes a socio-political position. The US Open winner Naomi Osaka received great praise for wearing a mask before all of her seven match wins in New York, each of which was reminiscent of a victim of police violence in the USA.
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"Aside from the fact that she was great at winning the US Open, I'm glad that she made it through to the end with her strong message," said Musetti. "She had the strength and authority to show everyone that sport can also be activism and that it is necessary to talk about racism. I believe that these masks with the names made a big impression. My respect goes to them."
By the way, Lorenzo Musetti sees his own generation well positioned. "I think we young people are underestimated in this regard. My generation is ready to embrace diversity. And most of us perceive racism as something absurd."
In terms of sport, Musetti will continue next week at the Challenger in Palma. There the teenager wants to continue his attack on the top 100. His goals are high. "Federer has always been my favorite player. I grew up with his rivalry with Nadal. If you ask me what my dream final would be, I always answer: against Roger at Wimbledon."