By Alberto Amalfi | Sunday, October 23, 2022
Lorenzo Musetti cooked up clever variety defeating Davis Cup teammate Matteo Berrettini 7-6(5), 6-2 to win his first career hard-court title at the Tennis Napoli Cup.
Photo credit: Getty
The first all-Italian ATP final of the season popped with tasty shotmaking and passionate Naples crowd.
An inspired Lorenzo Musetti cooked up clever variety defeating Davis Cup teammate Matteo Berrettini 7-6(5), 6-2 to win his first career hard-court title at the Tennis Napoli Cup.
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It's the second career title for Musetti, who showed strong appetite for the fight and sharpened serve.
Whipping his heavy kick serve to set up his first strike, Musetti won 35 of 41 first-serve points and saved the only break point he faced in a two-hour victory. It's Musetti's second ATP title coming nearly three months to the day after he defeated Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 in the Hamburg final on red clay.
The former junior world No. 1 rises to a career-high No. 23 on the ATP Live Rankings.
How will Musetti celebrate serving up a slice of brilliance in his second final?
Forget the champagne, the 20-year-old Italian plans a pizza party.
"I prefer to enjoy and celebrate with great pizza," Musetti said. "So I will probably enjoy with a Margherita for sure."
The fourth-seeded Italian feasted on success this week. Musetti did not drop a set in tournament victories over Laslo Djere, Daniel Elahi Galan, Miomir Kecmanovic and Berrettini in improving to 30-23 on the season. Musetti is the ninth man to win a 2022 ATP title without dropping a set.
It's the second title for Musetti, who joins Berrettini as the second Italian man to win multiple championships this season.
Leading 4-3 in the tiebreaker today, Musetti targeted the Berrettini backhand with a second serve for 5-3. The second seed jerked a forehand long giving Musetti three set points.
Wild card Berrettini smacked a forehand and a smash to save the first two set points on his serve.
On his third set point, Musetti stepped in and slashed his one-handed backhand down the line for a one-set lead after one hour, 23 minutes.
The 20-year-old Musetti broke to start the second set winning eight of the 10 first points in building a 2-0 lead he never relinquished.