When his premiere victory on the ATP tour was certain after an exciting three hours, Lorenzo Musetti lay on his back on the sand and touched his head.
The 20-year-old outsider from Italy seemed unable to believe that in the final of the European Open, which could hardly be surpassed in terms of tension, after a hard fight 6: 4, 6: 7 (6: 8), 6: 4 against the top -Favorites Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) had prevailed. Musetti dedicated his victory in his first tennis appearance at Hamburg’s Rothenbaum to his grandmother.
Musetti: “This is a big moment for me”
World number six Alcaraz, also in the Hanseatic city for the first time, missed the sixth coup he was aiming for on the ATP tour in front of 7,500 fans at temperatures around 30 degrees. The 19-year-old top favorite was initially far from the form of the previous days. In the first set, he gave his serve twice to Musetti, who made fewer mistakes himself and took advantage of almost every chance.
Alcaraz was also quickly 2-0 down in the second half, but kept urging himself on and was suddenly back to his old self in dire need. He fended off two match points and saved himself in the tie break, in which Musetti was unable to use three more match points. A break was enough for the Italian in the deciding set because he used his sixth match point after 2:46 hours. “It’s a big moment for me,” said the world number 62 proudly.