Great Lorenzo! - Musetti wins first ATP title in Hamburg
It was an absolute world-class final! In an exciting final for the young generation, 20-year-old Lorenzo Musetti secured his first ATP Tour title. The Italian fought a fascinating duel with top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz and turned his sixth matchball to 6:4, 6:7 (6) and 6:4 in 2:46 hours. He had previously been unable to use five matchballs in the second set. Alcaraz lost his first final on the tour.
In front of around 8,000 tennis fans, Alcaraz and Musetti started a little nervous in the most recent final of the Open Era (since 1968) at Rothenbaum in Hamburg. Lorenzo Musetti was the fastest player in his first ATP final. While Alcaraz made too many mistakes, Musetti not only acted with a lot of wit, but also consistently used his break chances. The 6:4 in the first set in favour of the Italian number two was well-deserved.
The 19-year-old from Murcia had to chase another break at the beginning of the second set, but he turned up in the decisive phase. At over 30 degrees in Hamburg’s most beautiful sandpit, he developed a high-class final that could hardly be surpassed in terms of drama. After the LaOla wave had swung through the long round, Musetti hit the match at 5:4, but Alcaraz fought off two matchballs in absolute world-class fashion and managed the rebound. Now the stop of the Spaniard worked again and so the tiebreak had to decide. Musetti was also in the lead – this time 6:3 – but Alcaraz resisted with incredible courage and finally scored four points in a row. With a double fault, Musetti had to acknowledge the set equalization. And the completely enthusiastic fans got a third set as encore!
Musetti was hardly shocked, however, and in the third set with Alcaraz delivering a gripping fight with everything that makes tennis such a fascinating sport. They both played their best tennis. In the end, a brief lack of concentration cost the Spaniard the match. When his backhand sailed out of the matchball, Musetti sank into the Hamburg sand and couldn’t believe his luck.
After winning the tournament, Musetti, who was the first Italian to win the tournament at Rothenbaum since Fabio Fognini in 2013, climbs to position 31 in the world rankings. Alcaraz is the new number five in the ATP rankings.
“It’s not easy to find words after a final like this. Carlos, you fought off so many match balls, it was so hard to finish that match. I hope we’ll play many more matches like this”, said Musetti, who also had a special compliment to the crowd: “I enjoyed every moment here. It was an indescribable atmosphere. At first, I arrived here without luggage and really never expected to win this tournament. Carlos Alcaraz also thanked him for the great support in the last few days: “Without your support I would never have made it to the final and would not have been able to compete for the title. Thank you very much and see you soon.”
In the end, the tenor was absolutely clear: The Hamburg European Open 2022 and this final of the “Young Guns” as a sensational finale were the best promotion for tennis and the tournament location of Hamburg!
