Musetti and Sinner, what’s behind the emotional collapse on the pitch

He fell for it again, Lorenzo Musetti. The tennis player from Carrara came out immediately Madrid Masters 1000in the second round, defeated by the Brazilian Seiboth Wild with the score of 6-4 6-4.

A sub-par performance for the 22-year-old, the great hope of Italian tennis who seemed to have emerged from a long sports tunnel Montecarlo. In fact, in the Principality he had recorded some good victories against Fritz And Fils before coming out with his head held high in the round of 16 Nole Djokovicnumber 1 in the world, at the end of a hard-fought match (7-5 ​​6-3 for the Serbian) and above all played well.

In Madrid, however, Musetti fell back into his psychological and emotional blackouts even before his technical ones, losing a match well within his reach. Once again, the nervousness that marked the plays and caused the errors was decisive, magnifying the merits of the opponent. The microphones on the sidelines intercepted him in moments of crisis. Musetti, as had already happened in the past on similar occasions, continued to repeat in a low voice “Against me they are all phenomena…”.

The worst approach, to relieve oneself from difficulties, because in fact it makes the Italian perceive defeat as “inevitable”, it takes away concentration, it makes it impossible to keep a cool head. Exactly step that separates a good player, like Musetti is, from an excellent player or project champion. A tennis player from top 10in short, without inconveniencing the inevitable touchstone Jannik Sinner even if it is now clear that in the case of the South Tyrolean the category of the “generational phenomenon” must now be considered.

Musetti is not and is unlikely to become one, but he has qualities that can ensure him a career full of satisfactions. But only if he manages to overcome the tendency towards victimism which in the last 15 games played has led him to 10 defeats.