Musetti Makes Perfect Start In Milan

Peter Staples/ATP Tour

Italian Lorenzo Musetti wasted little time earning victory at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals Tuesday when he flew past Chun-Hsin Tseng 4-2, 4-2, 4-2 to move to 1-0 in Red Group.

Making his second appearance in Milan, the 20-year-old delighted the vocal home crowd throughout the 70-minute clash with his stunning shotmaking. Musetti struck a series of passing shots off both wings and demonstrated good touch around the net to ensure he made the perfect start at the 21-and-under event.

“It was really nice,” Musetti said. “I remember playing here from last year. The crowd here is really amazing. They gave me extra energy. I am pretty confident and happy with the win. The shorter times [between points] means you can be in a rush, so you need to be patient and look at the times and not rush.”

Musetti was in constant dialogue with coach Simone Tartarin during the clash. Seated courtside, Tartarin was provided with data and analytics by the TennisViz system during the match, helping him negotiate a tactical plan with Musetti (who had an impressive 8.3 serve shot quality), who is the highest ranked player competing in Milan.

The World No. 23, who hit 17 winners and broke serve four times, captured his maiden tour-level title in Hamburg in July before he tasted success on home soil in Naples last month.

Tseng, currently No. 90 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is the second Asian player to compete at the 21-and-under event after 2017 champion Hyeon Chung. The 21-year-old, who demonstrated good touch at the net against Musetti, won two ATP Challenger Tour titles this season.

The second seed Musetti will also play British lefty Jack Draper and Swiss Dominic Stricker during the round-robin stage in Milan. Draper plays Stricker in the last match of the day on Tuesday.