Stefanos Tsitsipas ended the dream run of qualifier Lorenzo Musetti on Friday night for a place in the Abierto Mexicano Tecel presentado por HSBC final.
Top seed Tsitsipas didn’t let the Italian settle and completed a 6-1, 6-3 victory in 79 minutes for a place in his 13th ATP Tour final (5-7), where he will face second-seeded German Alexander Zverev.
“Matches like this are really important and I’m happy to be playing like this,” said Tsitsipas.
To: One-handed backhand lovers
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 20, 2021
From: Musetti and Tsitsipas#AMT2021 pic.twitter.com/3NlkZSgBqx
“Acapulco has been treating me really well and the fans have been giving me love and support. We’ll definitely see a lot from Lorenzo in the future, he has a wonderful one handed backhand and creates lots of opportunities. He showed his level this week.”
Zverev beat fellow German Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 7-6(5) earlier in the day.
“I am really looking forward to the final. Sascha is someone I’ve played against in the past and it’s never easy. We’re both really hungry and we’re both very competitive.”
Tsitsipas was simply unstoppable on the night. Musetti tried to play his own free-flowing game, yet an early five-game streak saw the Greek start to gain an early lead, yet was held off by the Italian.
Musetti continued to use the drop shot as an offensive weapon and attempted to draw Tsitsipas to the net as a target to strike past, but after seven matches this week, the Italian continued to make costly errors. At 3-3 in the second set, Tsitsipas broke serve after Musetti could not control a powerful forehand at the net.
Focus +
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 20, 2021= FINAL @steftsitsipas conquers young gun Lorenzo Musetti to reach the final on his Acapulco debut, 6-1 6-3. #AMT2021 pic.twitter.com/tM0WPFvBvR
Tsitsipas extended his stay in Acapulco, completing his fourth victory, when Musetti hit a short backhand into the net.
The Greek, who barely put a foot wrong, won 22 of 26 first-service points and struck 17 of 23 winners off his forehand. He will now look to capture his sixth ATP Tour crown on Sunday against Zverev.
Musetti will break into the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday.
Sourced By: ATP Cup
