Lorenzo Musetti gets off to a great start: past the Hurkacz hurdle

Lorenzo Musetti got off on the right foot at the Madrid Masters 1000: the tennis player from Carrara beat the tricky Pole Hubert Hurkacz in two sets with the scores of 6-4, 7-6 in an hour and fifty-two minutes of play. The No. 6 seeded Azzurro did not fall into the trap against a consistently tough opponent and qualified for the third round of the Spanish tournament, where he will face Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.

Musetti, who is regaining his form, had been eliminated in the past few weeks at the Monte Carlo round of 16 and the quarterfinals of the Barcelona tournament. The Azzurro must defend the points from the semifinal he won in Madrid last season in order not to slip out of the Top 10.

The Italian had the right approach, winning the break immediately in the first game that gave him confidence and allowed him to close out the first set 6-4. In the second partial, the services dominated, and the match was resolved at the tie-break, where the Carrarese player won 7-5 after canceling two set points in the twelfth game.

On the eve of the Madrid tournament, Musetti had drawn an encouraging balance of his own state of form, while acknowledging the difficulties of the period: “I needed to find continuity and sensations, both in the physical and in the head. The work done in recent weeks is starting to give encouraging answers: I have been training very well and this is the most important aspect. I know that sooner or later the results will come.” Words that, in the light of the victory over Hurkacz, already seem to find a first, concrete confirmation.

The Carrarese had also emphasized the specific pitfalls of the Caja Magica, sharing Jannik Sinner’s thoughts on the altitude of the Spanish capital: “Here the ball travels faster from the first practice and the rebounds are very high. You have to take measures, but it’s part of our job: every week we face different situations and we have to be ready.”