No one will soon forget how Italian tennis player Lorenzo Musetti won the ATP tournament title for the first time in his career.
The 20-year-old squandered a match point opportunity in the second set of the Hamburg European Open final before shocking first seed Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-7, 6-4.
“I’m speechless, because it was a match that had its ups and downs until the end. I got so many match point opportunities. Carlos is so good at match point chances, I got so many chances,” Lorenzo Musetti said.
READ ALSO : Casper Ruud Lifts The Trophy At Gstaad, Silences Matteo Berrettini
“But I think the key to this game is to stay calm and patient with myself because it’s really not easy. Carlos put in so much effort on match point opportunities when he was down, so it wasn’t easy to find energy again.”
“But I can’t describe how I feel right now. I think I’m still dreaming.”
Entering the Hamburg European Open this season, the Italian has never made it to the final of an ATP tournament. But he displayed a steely mentality against Spain’s Alcaraz, who will climb to number 5 in the world, in a match that lasted 2 hours 47 minutes.
“Of course I feel really annoyed, but I try not to show my reaction in front of my opponent. I’m trying to forgive myself for all the match points and all the points I’ve wasted.”
“I think that’s the most important thing, even for me, because I didn’t expect to win after all those ups and downs, so I feel really happy to be here and to be a champion.”
The 20-year-old squandered two match point opportunities to seal the match at 5-4 in the second set and another three in the tiebreak. Instead of sinking due to wasted golden opportunities, he fought hard in the deciding set to claim the Hamburg European Open title.
“For me, for my team, for my family, for my friends and for the people who truly love me, I appreciate all the sacrifices my family has made and all the hard work I put into my team. I will keep going, for sure and hopefully I will continue like this.”
It was the first meeting between the two young players and the win helped the Italian to his career-highest ranking to date, world number 31.
In addition, Musetti also prevented Alcaraz from becoming only the third man in the Open Era to win the first six finals of his career. The Spaniard is now 14-2 at the ATP level 500 tournament this season after he won tournaments in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona.
