ATP Finals: Musetti infinity. He beats De Minaur after almost three hours and dreams of the semi-final

Lorenzo the Magnificent? No, Lorenzo the Infinite. Musetti looks forward to the first victory of the Finals in his career, runs out of fuel, glimpses elimination, then rises again, lets himself be carried away by the 13,000 people at the Inalpi Arena and – no one knows with what energy – beats Alex De Minaur: 7-5 3-6 7-5 the score, after 2 hours and 47 minutes. The feat, already great in itself against the number 7 in the world, takes on epic contours considering the tour de force that Carrara underwent to gain the pass to Turin: six matches (of which five won) in seven days, starting from November 5th, i.e. from his debut in Athens (tournament lost in the final to Djokovic). But it was worth it. Do you want to enjoy the joy of playing the “masters’ tournament” in front of your home crowd and staying in the running until the last day of the round robin? After yesterday’s defeat against Fritz, Lorenzo has moved up the rankings and will be able to compete for access to the semi-finals on Thursday, in the third match of the group against Carlos Alcaraz, from whom he took away the joy of early qualification. Today’s match is the definitive confirmation of the maturity reached by the former unfinished talent of Italian tennis. The public in Turin and in front of the TV, accustomed to the thump thump of shots that goes crazy especially on this surface, rolls their eyes observing the variation of cuts and trajectories of the Carrarino, faithful to the artisan origins of the city of marble. The Australian – the prototype of the robotic player, all pace and legs – ends up trapped in the web created by Lorenzo.

the match

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Lorenzo starts with the right attitude. He is solid on serve and concedes very little in his rounds: it is true that the percentage of first serves is not high (58% in the first set), but his management is particularly effective (89% of points won with the first serve and 62% with the second serve, always in the first set). In fact, it is De Minaur who struggles the most when serving, conceding a break point at 3-3 and finally succumbing in an interminable 11th game in which the blue player flies 15-40 in vain on the return, does not take advantage of another chance and, finally, converts the fifth opportunity: 6-5. Serving for the first set, Lorenzo commits a double fault and finds himself 0-30, then the Australian makes a mistake, he takes courage and closes 7-5. On the wings of enthusiasm, three break points arrive at the start of the second set, but Musetti misses them. The order of the service rounds is followed until 4-3 for De Minaur: a forehand at the top corner gives the Australian the break which proves decisive in equalizing the set count (6-3). We go to the third. Lorenzo is exhausted, unlike De Minaur, who has fewer toxins in his legs and still remains a formidable athlete, capable of covering the pitch very well. Thus, the blue immediately gives up the serve. At 2-1 for De Minaur and 40 all, the match was interrupted for 9 minutes to help a member of the public who had fallen ill. When the game resumes, Musetti gets a break point but wastes it. Alex holds serve and at 4-2 has the chance for a double break, but Lorenzo cancels it with a backhand down the line. We are at 5-4: De Minaur serves for the match, the blue hooks him at 30 all thanks to an incredible lob and explodes the building with an inside out forehand. It’s counterbreak. Lorenzo is exhausted but defends the innings and, in response, completes the job on the second matchpoint.