ATP Sofia, Lorenzo Musetti struggles but goes to the quarters: ‘Tough as hell’

Great suffering for two sets, then triumph in the third.

Lorenzo Musetti takes the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 tournament in Sofia by beating Alexandar Lazarov. The Tuscan, however, struggled perhaps more than expected as the final score shows: 6-7(5), 7-6(8), 6-2. And he himself admits it at the end of the match.

If in fact the first set is consumed for a full hour without any break, the second comes close to an hour and a quarter and sees Musetti risk the knockout several times. In fact, the Bulgarian took the break at 6-5 and served for the match. At that point, however, he suffers the counterbreak. At the tie-break, he then goes to 5-4 with two balls at his disposal. The Blue, however, makes them his own, evens the set count and in the third is unstoppable, closing the score in just half an hour.

“It was a very tough match,” Musetti then admitted, “I think he played great, it was a real battle. Then I saw a chance to pull through, especially in the third set. There I was able to get the better of him, because physically he really gave everything.”

“I was not able to put my best tennis on the court, but there are situations where you have to think about what good you were able to do. Winning this match is one of them, and I’m glad I brought it home. The second tie-break was decisive, recovering me from 4-1. Then after a bit of a swing of fate, I was more aggressive and also a bit lucky. But I won, and that’s okay,” Musetti concluded.