The first semi-final on grass for Lorenzo Musetti. The boy from Carrara is among the best four of the Boss Open in Stuttgart, taking advantage of the Alexander Bublik retired with a score of 4-6 6-1 1-0. A physical problem affected the Kazakh, who in the first set had made the difference with his serve and then failed moving forward with the match. And now, in the semi-final, a nice derby awaits us with Matteo Berrettini for a place in the last act.
In the first games we see the usual, moody Bublik. His match begins with the whim of many, many short balls (seven in the first two games) which start a couple of eye-opening exchanges between two immensely talented players, but Lorenzo stays on track and, quietly, thanks to a couple of applause-worthy responses, he also manages to annoy the Kazakh in the sixth game, who gets away with two aces. And almost unexpected, it arrives immediately after the break for the number 3 seed, always with the short ball as the master, and then goes to close the fraction.
But we know how Bublik has his moments when he unplugs. And it happens in the second game, right on time: forehand error, short ball without criteria and double fault and voilà, Lorenzo flies to 3-0 and then cancels a break point in the fifth game with the volley.
And little by little the Kazakh almost seems to throw in the towel, but not as usual, when he starts playing for the public when the match slips out of his hands. This time the energy seems to be running out, Bublik easily loses the second set 6-1 and then suffers another break at the start of the third. The number 3 seeding decides that this is fine and goes to say goodbye to Musetti.
Lorenzo’s defense was a factor, with three break points saved out of four, countering Bublik’s 13 aces in two sets and one game. He performed excellently on his opponent’s second, with an excellent 17/27.
