#NextGenATP Musetti Reaches First ATP Tour Quarter-final In Sardinia
Lorenzo Musetti continued his recent strong form on Thursday, reaching his first ATP Tour quarter-final at the Forte Village Sardegna Open.
The Italian wild card powered his way past compatriot and qualifier Andrea Pellegrino 6-2, 6-1 in just 60 minutes, losing 12 service points and converting four of his five break points.
Since beating Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori en route to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia third round in Rome last month, Musetti has gone on to capture his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Forli, where he overcame four Top 100 players: Frances Tiafoe, Andreas Seppi, Lloyd Harris and Thiago Monteiro.
Having been No. 363 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on 20 January, Musetti is now up to a career-high No. 143. The 18-year-old will now prepare to face Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann in the Sardinia quarter-finals.
Hanfmann, who earned the biggest win of his career over then No. 9-ranked Gael Monfils in the Hamburg European Open first round on 22 September, booked a place in his second ATP Tour quarter-final with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over in-form third seed Casper Ruud of Norway.
The World No. 101, who reached the Generali Open final, saved all eight break points he faced against Ruud, who has put together a 17-6 clay-court match record this year, including his first ATP Tour title at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires (d. P. Sousa) and a final run at the Chile Dove Men+Care Open in Santiago (l. to Seyboth Wild).
[WATCH LIVE 3]Italian wild card Marco Cecchinato, who saved one match point in his first-round win over Gianluca Mager, worked hard to beat seventh seed Tommy Paul of the United States 7-6(1), 6-4 in 88 minutes. Cecchinato, who led 3-0 in the first set before Paul fought back, won 35 of his 39 first-service points.
He will next challenge fourth-seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who knocked out Corentin Moutet of France 6-0, 6-3 in 80 minutes.