At the end of a match concluded at almost two o’clock in the morning, Stefanos Tsitsipas won against Lorenzo Musetti in two hung sets and joined the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Rome.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was able to continue. After his victory against Lorenzo Sonego at the start of the program this Tuesday in a match postponed due to bad weather, the world number 5 had to wait before returning to the court to challenge Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 of Rome. It was around midnight that the two players began their duel, which kept the public still present in the bays of Center Court in suspense. With the break obtained at the first opportunity, it was the Greek who took the lead to quickly lead three games to nothing.
However, neither of the two players was completely serene about his commitment and it was Lorenzo Musetti who took advantage of it to pick up four games everywhere. From then on, the debates were balanced but it was at the gates of the decisive game that everything settled. Indeed, the Italian went down and it was the seeded number 5 of the tournament who took advantage of the situation. At the first opportunity, Stefanos Tsitsipas won the first set.
He does it again! 😤
A dominant performance from @steftsitsipas as he takes down Lorenzo Musetti 7-5 7-5 under the moon in Rome! 🌙@InteBNLdItalia | #IBI23 pic.twitter.com/1qdqauD4cD
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 17, 2023
Musetti held on almost to the end against Tsitsipas
Back to the wall, Lorenzo Musetti had to respond and wasted no time in doing so. Indeed, it was from the first game of the second round that the 19th player in the world made the Greek give in to take his service and lead two games to nothing. However, the Italian did not lead the race for very long. After a more hooked second serve, Lorenzo Musetti cracked in the third, allowing Stefanos Tsitsipas to come back to three games everywhere.
Not wanting to see the meeting drag on when it was already very late in Rome, the world number 5 raised his voice when his opponent had to serve to stay in the game. However, Lorenzo Musetti resisted by saving the first four match points and then holding his face-off in extremis. But, after winning his white commitment, Stefanos Tsitsipas returned to the charge. This time, the first opportunity was good for the Greek (7-5, 7-5 in 1h53 ‘). A success that allows him to join Borna Coric in the quarter-finals. Indeed, the Croatian put an end to the dream of Fabian Maroszan, who beat Carlos Alcaraz in the third round, with a success in three sets (3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 2h10′).
