Musetti Manages Mager Challenge In Parma
The Lorenzo Musetti momentum train keeps gaining steam.
The #NextGenATP Italian, who had five tour-level wins entering the season, earned his 13th ATP Tour victory of 2021 on Tuesday when he advanced past countryman Gianluca Mager 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma.
“I think the Lorenzo of two years ago would not have been able to win this match today for sure after the bad loss of the first set,” Musetti told ATPTour.com. “There’s a lot of improvement, we are happy and there is a lot of work to do. We are here to try to go as far as I can and [I] try to do my best.”
[WATCH LIVE 1]Musetti made his third ATP Tour semi-final last week in Lyon, where he pushed eventual champion Stefanos Tsitsipas to three sets. The 19-year-old didn’t get down about that defeat. Instead, he quickly adjusted in Parma to avoid an early exit at home.
“You lost one match, you understand why you lost and you try to do better next time. That’s the goal and that’s the thing that I’m focussing on,” Musetti said. “I think this is the only thing. There is no other way to solve these problems. You just have to understand what you need and try to do your best.”
Musetti, who is at a career-high No. 76 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, got off to a slow start against Mager, last year’s Rio de Janeiro finalist. But the teen was quickly able to turn the tide.
The #NextGenATP star only missed five first serves across the final two sets to put pressure on Mager. Musetti won 80 per cent of his first-serve points in the match and broke the 26-year-old four times from eight chances to triumph after one hour and 44 minutes.
Next up will be eighth seed Yoshihito Nishioka, who battled past American Sam Querrey 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) after one hour and 57 minutes.
Fifth seed Richard Gasquet also advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 win against German qualifier Daniel Altmaier. The former World No. 7 will play Pedro Martinez in the second round. The Spaniard eliminated another former Top 10 player, Gilles Simon, 6-0, 6-4.