In Lyon, Lorenzo Musetti comes out on top in the Italian derby: Matteo Arnaldi is defeated

Lorenzo Musetti won the all-Italian matchup in straight sets in the first round of the Lyon tournament (an ATP 250 event officially known as the Grand Prix Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes): The Carrara native got the better of Matteo Arnaldi in a match that pitted two players seeking a crucial victory against each other, given their respective slumps.

Musetti closed out the match 6-4, 6-1 in his favor after one hour and twenty minutes of play. Arnaldi struggled to find his rhythm and, in fact, never led on the scoreboard, though he managed to raise his level of play in the second set: at 4-4 in the second set, the Sanremo native even had four break points, all of which were saved by Musetti, who, by winning that game and the next on his opponent’s serve, clinched the match.

For Musetti, this is an important victory, especially for his morale: in Shanghai, despite high expectations, the player from Carrara had in fact failed to advance past the second round (after receiving a bye in the first round), losing in three sets to Chinese dark horse Zhou Yi, ranked 280th in the world.

For Arnaldi, Monday’s result is yet another disappointment in a season in which the Sanremo native, following his run at Roland Garros (where he reached the semifinals before having to withdraw due to the flu), has not had any standout performances but has instead suffered early-round eliminations. In Shanghai, too, he was eliminated in the second round: after defeating Bernard Tomic in his opener, he faced Taylor Fritz, fighting until the end but ultimately losing in two sets.