Lorenzo Musetti wins Hamburg Open: Decoding his career stats
Italy's Lorenzo Musetti won the Hamburg Open after upsetting top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the final on Sunday. The former won 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 to claim his maiden ATP title. Notably, Musetti dropped five championship points in the second set. Before this tournament, he had not played a tour-level final. The Italian is set to attain a career-high 31st spot in the ATP Rankings.
Why does this story matter?
Musetti is one of the most prolific teenagers on the ATP Tour at present. The 20-year-old, who is in the Top 50, had a stellar season in 2021. He reached the semi-finals in Acapulco and Lyon. The youngster even took two sets off world number one Novak Djokovic at the 2021 French Open. His perseverance has finally paid off in Hamburg.
Feats attained by Musetti
Last week, Musetti became the fourth Italian man in the Open Era to reach a final at Hamburg, after Adriano Panatta (1972), Paolo Bertolucci (1977), and Fabio Fognini (2013 and 2015). And now, Musetti has become the first Italian man to win this tournament since Fabio Fognini in 2013. The latter defeated Federico Delbonis 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-2 in the 2013 final.
Musetti is 18-16 in 2022
After winning in Hamburg, Musetti has improved his win-loss record in 2022 to 18-16. The Italian beat Dusan Lajovic, Emil Ruusuvuori, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Francisco Cerundolo en route to the final. Before this tournament, Musetti lost consecutive matches at Bastad, Wimbledon, Queen's Club, and Stuttgart. He reached the last 16 of the Madrid Masters before retiring through injury.
Musetti shone on his Grand Slam main-draw debut
Musetti made his Grand Slam main-draw debut at Roland Garros last year. He defeated David Goffin, Yoshihito Nishioka, and Marco Cecchinato in three rounds. The Italian locked horns with Djokovic in the fourth round. However, he retired through injury in the deciding set. Musetti could have become the eighth man in the Open Era to reach the quarter-final on his Grand Slam debut.
When Musetti stunned Djokovic
Musetti stunned Djokovic in the first two sets at Roland Garros. However, the former world number one used all his experience to stage a terrific turnaround. Musetti retired through injury, giving Djokovic a walkover at 6-7(7), 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-0, 4-0.
A look at other notable numbers
After his win in Hamburg, Musetti has a career win-loss record of 44-41. As stated, the final in the tournament was the first of his career. In 2021, Musetti became the third-youngest player to reach the semi-finals in Acapulco. Only Xavier Malisse (1998) and Rafael Nadal (2005) did so at a younger age. Musetti also broke into the top 100 during the tournament.
