Lorenzo Musetti stops in the penultimate act of the Madrid Masters 1000. In the semifinals, Jack Draper prevails, defeating the Carrara player in two sets with a score of 6-7-6 in one hour and 57 minutes and on Sunday he will challenge the Norwegian Casper Ruud.
A good performance was not enough for the Tuscan tennis player who went out at the distance after an impressive first set by Draper. The British player felt a bit tired in the final stages of the match, but was more attentive in the tiebreak, which turned 2-2 with a passing shot by Musetti that went out by just a hair's breadth.
It remains an extraordinary tournament by the Carrara native who leaves the Caja Magica certain of entering the top 10 on the eve of the Italian Internationals.
"Winning this semifinal - Draper said at the end of the match - was very important for me. Lorenzo plays very well on clay and in general on all surfaces. We grew up together and the most important thing is that we are competing on these big stages. Ruud is a very difficult player to beat. And I will try to bring out my best tennis".
Draper, always victorious against Musetti, after winning Indian Wells, will try to win his second trophy in the Spanish capital on Sunday. He will have to deal with Casper Ruud who defeated the Argentine Francisco Cerundolo in two sets, with a score of 6-4, 7-5 despite an injury that required medical intervention from the first game, a pain in his ribs felt during the warm-up that left him with many doubts and very little time to try to prepare a solution that would allow him to stay on the court while waiting for an unexpected improvement.
"I wasn't sure I'd finish the match, I felt a twinge in my ribs during the warm-up and I felt pain in every shot, especially when serving," the Norwegian confessed at the end of the match. "I couldn't do much a few minutes before the start, just take some painkillers and play one game at a time, trying to warm up and feel better. Let's hope it's nothing serious, but it was certainly a big scare."
In the women's tournament, tomorrow, the WTA title will be fought between Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff. The Belarusian, currently world no. 1, beat the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-3 7-5 in the semifinals, thus conquering her fourth final at the Caja Magica. On the other side of the net she will find the American Coco Gauff who instead she beat with a peremptory 6-1 6-1 who will instead play her first final in the Spanish tournament.
(Online Union)
