Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Arnaldi, first smiles of the season.

Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Arnaldi’s season begins with a win

While waiting to see Italian No. 1 (fourth in the world rankings) Jannik Sinner back on the court, Italian tennis was able to celebrate, on Tuesday, the first successes of the season of the second and third best athletes of the Bel Paese at the ATP ranking level, Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Arnaldi.

Musetti, playing on the concrete in Hong Kong, defeated host Chak Lam Coleman Wong in two sets, 6-4, 7-5, at the end of a match that was more tightly fought than the distance between the two tennis players at ranking level (Musetti No. 27, Wong No. 243) would tell. In fact, the match lasted one hour and 46 minutes, with a second set that lasted a full 62 rounds of hands.

Arnaldi è on the other hand, is already in Australia, in Brisbane, where he is participating in the tournament that also features Rafa Nadal among the starters. The San Remo-born tennis player, No. 44 ATP, won a tough match against Portugal's Marton Fucsovics (No. 59), imposing himself in three sets after a marathon three hours and 9 minutes: 6(5)-7, 6-4, 7-6(7) the partials in favor of Arnaldi, who thus opened the season with a success.

Moreù than the final result at tournament level, the two tennis players are using the commitments of this early season to find the right rhythm and arrive at the Australian Open in top form: the first Slam of the season will kick off in mid-January and the representatives of the Tricolor want to continue to impress after the splendid finish of the 2023 season, culminating with the conquest of the Davis Cup.