Musetti, Fritz meet different fates in 3rd set tie-breaks

Paris Olympics’ bronze medallist Lorenzo Musetti made a successful transition from clay to hard court Tuesday at the Cincinnati Open when he survived a third-set tie-break to defeat Chilean Nicolas Jarry

World No. 18 Musetti, who has reached five consecutive quarter-finals, including a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, edged Jarry 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in his first hard-court match since Miami in March.

“I’m really happy to get the win today. I couldn’t find my game in the fast conditions at the beginning,” said Musetti, who won 85 per cent of first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats. “Coming from clay to hard is not the easiest thing to do. But I won two tie-breaks against a great server like Nico, so I’m really proud of the fight.

“It’s been more than three months since I’ve played on hard in Miami, but I’ve made so many results and achievements, so I’m trying to keep this consistency in my work.”

Heating up ???

The recent ?@Lorenzo1Musetti gets the forehand #ShotQuality rolling in @CincyTennis #ShotQuality is calculated in real-time by analysing each shot's speed, spin, depth, width, and the impact it has on the opponent#TennisInsights | @atptour | #Cincytennis pic.twitter.com/Vv8k1O8CkO

Jarry was valiant in defeat, crushing 25 forehand winners among 43 total winners and saving both break points he faced.

Musetti is 14th in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, hoping to make up enough ground between now and the end of the season to join countryman Jannik Sinner at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Musetti next faces American Frances Tiafoe. The players are locked at 2-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Eleventh seed Taylor Fritz met a different fate than Musetti in his third-set tie-break with fellow American Brandon Nakashima, falling 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4).

Fritz was looking to use the North American summer Masters 1000s to boost his chances to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals but now finds himself with much work to do after walking away with just one match win in Montreal.

Nakashima, who last week beat American No. 2 Tommy Paul in Montreal, began the year at No. 134 in the PIF ATP Rankings, but now sits at No. 49 in the live rankings.

“It a super special win for me. The atmosphere out here tonight was incredible and I’m very happy to come away with the win,” said Nakashima, who claimed his first win in Cincinnati. “It was just a couple of points here and there. In the tie-breaker I got a few more returns back in play and took care of my serve when it mattered most.”

Nakashima next plays the winner of countryman Brandon Holt and Next Gen ATP Frenchman Arthur Fils.