Rain did not stop Musetti, who edged past world number 11 Danil Medvedev 7-5 6-4 to advance to the quarter final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. Musetti continues his great period of form after reaching the final in Monte-Carlo and the semifinal in Madrid.
The match was interrupted by rain, as Medvedev was leading 2-1 in the opening set. Both players went on serve until the eighth game. Musetti earned the first break in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead. Medvedev broke straight back in the 10th game to draw level to 5-5, as Musetti was serving for the set. Musetti earned his second break at 15 in the 11thgame to take a 6-5 lead and served out 7-5 on his second set point in the 12th game.
Musetti earned an early break in the first game of the second set and consolidated it by holding serve in the second game to open up a 2-0 lead. Musetti held on his serve until 5-4. The Olympic bronze medallist earned a match point at 40-30, but the match was interrupted by the chair umpire due to a heavy rain downpour. After a delay of three hours Musetti closed out the match with a forehand winner.
“Today was another confirmation that to beat a player like Daniil, you need a lot of tactical patience. Today, I had that. The situation during the delay was quite bizarre. I tried to manage the waiting time, imagining how the point would go. When we returned, the first serve didn’t go in, but I managed to win the point in the rally”, said Musetti.
Musetti will face Alexander Zverev, who beat Arthur Fils 7-6 (7-3) 6-1. Zverev has reached the quarter final in Rome for the sixth time in his career and his 100th quarter final overall in his career.
Zverev broke twice to race out to a 4-1 lead. Fils pulled back on serve to draw level to 4-4. Zverev saved three break points in the 11th game to hold serve. Zverev earned three mini-breaks to take a 7-3 lead. Zverev broke three breaks to win the second set 6-1.
“It was back and forth a lot of times and I thought the level was really, really high. When he was coming back he was actually winning the points and playing ridiculously good tennis. I couldn’t blame myself too much, I thought I was doing the right things. It paid off and I’m really happy about the win. Lorenzo is with a lot of confidence now and has been playing well throughout the entire clay-court season. I’m looking forward to the challenge”, said Zverev.
