Lorenzo Musetti reveals the'incident that shook him

Lorenzo Musetti did not advance beyond the round of 16 of the Madrid Masters 1000, defeated by Czech Jiri Lehecka in two sets at the end of a negative performance. After the match, the Azzurro took stock: “Definitely the two good matches I had and the steps forward I made in this tournament should not be thrown away. Today was a difficult match from all points of view, I was never able to get into the match on a feeling level.”

“Credit also to Jiri who played a very good match. I was struggling to stay sharp in the important moments, I always made the wrong choice, and in my opinion, on my tactical plan today … I knew very well what to do, yet I relied on something else. He deserved to win. You have to reset, take what’s positive and move on.”

During the first set, one episode shook his convictions: “On 4-3, 0-40 for me he put 5 firsts in a row, I couldn’t get the right reaction. Apart from that, there were other opportunities, even in the second set, on 30-40, I started to respond but with little conviction.”

“I made some bad choices that cost me, and that made him take a lot of confidence,” continued Musetti, who now looks to Rome. “I still made steps forward, surely there is a need to take a cue from those moments and bring them to Rome as well. The thing that changes in Rome, besides the conditions, is obviously the push of the public; you have to try not to put pressure or anxiety on yourself because of the expectations, and try to make the public have fun and enjoy the Foro Italico, as it is never easy to enjoy anything.”