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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday July 23, 2022

 
Carlos Alcaraz

It will be Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti for the title at Hamburg.

Photo Source: Getty

It will be Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti in a battle of young guns for the title in Hamburg.

19-year-old Alcaraz, who assured himself of a Top-5 debut in next week’s ATP’s rankings with his 7-6(2), 6-2 victory over Slovakia’s Alex Molcan, will bid for his sixth career title on Sunday.

Tennis Express

“It was tough,” said Alcaraz of his win over 24-year-old Molcan. “Obviously he played really well and the first set was pretty close. I finished the match with a lot of confidence and playing really well.”


The Spaniard was troubled by the craft of the World No.48 in a topsy turvy opening set that featured four consecutive breaks of serve at one point, but he managed to prevail by playing a dominant tiebreak.

From there he was off to the races for his 39th win of the season (39-5).

“I couldn’t read the drop shots from him,” the Spaniard admitted with a smile after the match. “He was better on the drop shots today. I was a little bit upset in the first set.”

Musetti reached his first ATP final with a well-played 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over Francisco Cerundolo, snapping the eight-match winning streak of the Argentine, who won his maiden title at Bastad last week.

“It means a lot for me,” 20-year-old Musetti said. “I didn’t expect it, it’s a surprise for me.

"I was not playing my best tennis last week, so I didn’t expect to be in the final here. I saved two match points first round against Lajovic, I surely don’t understand why I am here but I am really looking forward to playing my first ATP final and I will try my best to win.”

Musetti went for a underarm serve on his first match point, at 5-4 in the second set, and failed to convert. When asked about it afterwords he had no explanation for his spontaneous decision.


“It was not easy because he was playing really good and I was playing under pressure,” Musetti said. “I saw him like so far from the line, on the ad-side, so I don’t know why I did that, why I did the underarm serve – but it didn’t work.”

The Italian made his second match point count, in the second-set tiebreak.

“At the end I didn’t take the option of the underarm serve – I went for the kick and serve-and-volley and it worked so I’m really happy.”

Alcaraz knows he will have his hands full with the Italian, who will make his Top-40 debut in next week’s ATP rankings, regardless of the result of Sunday’s final in Germany.

Musetti, 17-16 on the season, will bid to become the ATP's 10th first-time title winner in 2022 against a player that has proven to be a Sunday lock.

Alcaraz has won all five of his previously played finals and hopes to become the third player in the Open Era to win his first six ATP finals, joining Ernest Gulbis and Martin Klizan.

“Lorenzo is playing really well,” Alcaraz said. “Of course he’s a great player and it’s going to be a great final with him. He has played a great match before the final – me as well, so I have a lot of confidence for the final and I hope to make it six of six.”


 

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