With 24 hours more rest in his legs than his opponent, “gift” of Sinner’s forfeit in the quarterfinalsLorenzo Musetti returns to the field at lunchtime for the semifinals of the “Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell” (ATP 500 – jackpot 2,722,480 euros) which is about to enter the final stages sulla terra rossa of the Royal Tennis Club Barcelona-1899, the oldest club in the capital of Catalonia.
The 21-year-old from Carrara, n.20 in the ranking and ninth seed, fresh from the quarterfinals on clay in the Principality (where he beat Djokovic before losing to Sinner), a place in the final is played with the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipasn.5 in the ranking and 2 in the seeding, finalist in 2018 and 2021 (always stopped by Nadal, this year absent due to injury), who on Friday got rid of 64 62, in one hour and 21 minutes, of the Australian Alex De Minaur, n.19 ATP and eighth seed, in a match never in discussion. “The topspin shots worked well, I served at my best and I returned with continuity especially in the second set, and I’m very satisfied with this”, said the Greek tennis player.
The 24-year-old from Athens won all three previous challenges with the Tuscan Next Gen but in the latter, played in the first round last year on clay at Roland Garros, Stefanos had to come back from a two-set deficit before managing to win 6-2 in the fifth. “Lorenzo plays really good tennis, I have a good record against him but I expect a hard-fought match. Did he benefit from not playing today? We’ll find out in the semifinal…”