Take stock of the situation. Didn’t go on stage iThe derby between Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musettivalid for the quarterfinals of the ATP500 in Barcelona. In fact, the South Tyrolean decided not to take the field because he was weakened by the remarkable succession of matches in this first part of the season and not in the best conditions to recover.
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Consequently, the road is paved for the semifinal for the Tuscan who will face the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipasemerged victorious in a clear manner against the Australian Alex de Minaur. We turned to Simon Tartarinicoach of the Carrara, with whom we drew a sort of balance sheet compared to Lorenzo’s season, between initial problems and a recovery that began in Montecarlo.
Simon, welcome back. Are we preparing for a semifinal then?
“Absolutely yes, sorry for Jannik, but that’s fine with us because Lorenzo needed a day of rest, having come out a bit bruised from the match against Norrie”.
The arm problem?
“Yes, he has always suffered from this problem in his right forearm since he was a junior and I confess that yesterday he was even a step away from retiring during the first set. Then luckily, after taking the painkiller he felt better and was able to bring home a game that had gone bad”.
What struck you favorably about the comparison with the British?
“The way he was able to handle the situation and level up especially in the third set, when he cleared the shots. This attitude makes me feel confident”.
And for the match against Tsitsipas, do you fear that there could be relapses to the arm?
“I think and hope not, today he had some treatments, but as a precaution tomorrow he will also take a painkiller. I think that’s not the real problem”.
It will be the Greek I guess?
“Definitely yes, he has always won in the previous matches, even if in the last match in Paris last year Lorenzo went ahead by two sets. I hope that he will express his tennis, putting Stefanos in difficulty, having the possibility to do so”.
Taking a step back, Musetti had just returned from a very negative period and in Montecarlo he found the right sensations. How did you deal with the situation?
“We often forget that Lorenzo is still a very young boy, subject to the typical ups and downs of his age. He came from a period of distrust and after the experience in Marrakech we spoke to each other and clarified some things. In Montecarlo he was more aware of what he had to do on the pitch and for me all the important victories were against Kecmanovic, Nardi and Djokovic. Of course, beating the No. 1 in the world has an extra value for one’s self-esteem, but I think more from the point of view of the course. Musetti can only find his way by playing and so he did”.
Speaking of a difficult period, Lorenzo also wanted to remove a few pebbles from his shoes for the “Super coach” affair. What do you think?
“Truly said sincerely, it touched me because things were said by people who spoke to you in a different way in front of you. In my opinion, this thing only came out in Italy because with Sinner, after he left Piatti, he made that choice, but as far as I’m concerned, Vagnozzi is the Super coach, Cahill is a consultant. Consequently, this thing was more of an excuse to find a culprit due to results that did not arrive. Lorenzo, also because he was always asked this question, wanted to send that message”.
After Barcelona, what do you foresee in the programme?
“Madrid, Rome and Paris, but if he loses sooner than expected in these tournaments we keep the Challenger speech open in Italy, i.e. in Cagliari and Turin”.
Photo: Victor Joly / Shutterstock.com
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