Lorenzo Musetti continues his run in Cincinnati: a victory that counts double

Lorenzo Musetti has advanced to the third round of the Cincinnati Open, the second North American Masters 1000 tournament leading up to the U.S. Open. The Carrara native, facing off against American Michael Zheng, had a relatively easy time of it, wrapping up the match in just under an hour and a quarter with a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

The victory is significant not only in terms of advancing in the tournament but also because Musetti, taking advantage of Jiri Lehecka’s elimination, has climbed to 14th place in the ATP Live Rankings—the hourly updated standings that precede the official changes on Monday morning.

This season, Musetti is trying to put behind him the physical problems that have plagued him since January at the Australian Open, when, during the quarterfinals—leading Novak Djokovic two sets to zero—he was forced to throw in the towel.

On the court this spring—at Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome—Musetti was never able to regain his peak form during that period, leading him to take a break immediately after the Italian Open to focus exclusively on his physical recovery. The Carrara native returned to the court in late July in Washington and in early August in Montreal, losing in both instances to Spain’s Rafael Jodar. Jodar is also competing in Cincinnati: on Wednesday, he will face another Italian, Flavio Cobolli.