One of the best victories in 2024 by Lorenzo Musetti, who comes back from Alex De Minaur, eliminates the number 2 seed at Queen’s and enters the second round of the London tournament. Great match for the blue, who after a first set badly lost 1-6, spread with a clear 6-4 6-2 in two hours and 6 minutes. It was a very difficult draw for Lorenzo, faced with a player in excellent form, fresh from the victory in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and just below the very favorites Sinner and Alcaraz in terms of Wimbledon. The Australian’s streak of consecutive victories ends at four, having not lost since the Roland Garros quarterfinals (with Zverev).
what faces!
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Musetti’s approach to the match is not to be rejected either and the blue player immediately recovers the break deficit at the opening of the set. The Australian snatches the serve again and spreads, deceiving the Stuttgart semi-finalist with his variations. A further break comes in the fifth game: tombstone on the set for Lorenzo, who loses 6-1 (29 points to 18). At the beginning of the second set Alex would have a break point that had the flavor of a match point, but Musetti managed to hold serve for the first time in the whole match. Same script in the fourth game, with the Carrarese holding on to the first to stay in the match. Suddenly all the inertia of the match changes and Musetti finds an amazing backhand that puts him ahead for the first time in the whole match, it’s 3-2. Lorenzo holds his ground until 5-4, when he serves for the set and capitalizes on the second chance, after canceling (obviously) another break point. The match turns completely upside down and De Minaur gets everything wrong in the first game of the third set (double fault and oversized smash). Alex is on the ball and Lorenzo spreads: double break, with De Minaur throwing away a backhand and a forehand. The finale is a formality, with Musetti maintaining the lead and finishing 6-2.
remontada analdi
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Great match from Matteo Arnaldi, who cancels a match point from the Frenchman Ugo Humbert and wins 3-6 6-1 7-6 (6), entering the second round, where he will face Hijikata. The initial run of 12 points to 2 immediately gives Humbert the keys to the match. The Frenchman, an excellent hitter, faces a Matteo who is more foul than usual, struggling against Ugo’s heavy ball. The first set (with only one break) ends 6-3, with the Frenchman canceling three counter-break points and winning the set with 5 points in a row. Arnaldi, who is as always an excellent fighter, gets a break point in the second game of the second set and converts it with a crosscourt backhand. Humbert goes completely haywire and the Sanremo player overflows: 20 points to 9 in the first 5 games of the set and total domination of the Italian tennis player. The set ends 6-1 for Arnaldi and we go to the third and decisive set. Matteo is wonderful in the fourth game of the third set, when he cancels a break point and then flies towards 2-2 thanks to the best point of the match (two defensive lobs and the backhand passer). With the usual itch Arnaldi erases two more break points in the eighth game and at 5-6 serves to prolong the match, taking it to a tie-break. At 5-5 comes the mini-break for the Frenchman, thanks to Matteo’s double fault, who however hits a cross-court pass with his backhand and cancels the match point! The score was 6-6, but Humbert still remained at the previous point. Arnaldi finishes 8-6 and signs another great feat.
