Can Lorenzo Musetti forge a late surge to a Nitto ATP Finals debut?
Top seed Musetti overcame Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday to advance to the semi-finals at the Chengdu Open.
The Italian, who was a semi-finalist last year in Chengdu, struck 23 winners to take his Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the Frenchman to 1-1. The No. 19 in the PIF ATP Rankings also saved three of the four break points against him to close out the match in two hours, 16 minutes.
The 22-year-old Musetti recorded a personal best 35th win of the season. The Italian is 15th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, but has moved within 915 points of eighth-placed Alex de Minaur following his victory against Mannarino. Musetti has now reached six semi-finals in his past eight tour-level events.
2023 - SF
2024 - SF
(1) @Lorenzo1Musetti returns to the Last 4 in Chengdu 6-2 5-7 6-2@ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/zXBtjkztj2
“I think today was a really great match from both players, he [Mannarino] raised the level the second set and he was starting to serve better and giving me less chances to break him and go forward,” Musetti said in his post-match interview. “So I had to be really focused each point to make it happen and at 2-2 [in the final set] when I made the break, that was the key moment that probably changed the match.”
Musetti will next face qualifier Alibek Kachmazov in the semi-finals.
Kachmazov upset third seed Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-4 to record the biggest win of his career and advance to his maiden tour-level semi-final.
The No. 252 in the PIF ATP Rankings lost just one point on serve in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He is the lowest-ranked semi-finalist in tournament history.
“I’m playing very good, very solid this week. So I’m hoping I can continue this way,” Kachmazov said after the match. “Today was a little bit better, it was a little bit easier to play long rallies and just a perfect day again.
“It’s an amazing week here for me already but I hope not to stop and not to think about it too much, and just continue to play”.
Yannick Hanfmann defeated fourth seed Pedro Martinez 7-6(1), 6-2 to reach his eighth ATP Tour semi-final.
The German hit 26 winners as he closed out the match in one hour, 52 minutes. The No. 95 in the PIF ATP Rankings leads his Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the Spaniard 2-1.
Hanfmann has made multiple tour-level semi-finals in the same season for the second time in his career, after reaching the last four in Mallorca and Kitzbuhel in 2023. He will face #NextGenATP star Shang Juncheng or second seed Alexander Bublik next.
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