Lorenzo Musetti beat qualifier Alibak Kachmazov 6-4 6-2 after 1 hour and 43 minutes to reach the final at Chengdu Open. Musetti saved three break points en route tohis personal best 37th tour-level win of the year.
Musetti will be aiming to win his first title of the 2024 season after finishing runner-up to Tommy Paul at Queen’s and Francisco Cerundolo at Umag.
Musetti needed 1 hour and 42 minutes to end the run of Kazhmazov, who had not dropped a set all week in Chengdu. The Italian player won 65% of his first serve points and hit 15 winners to 20 unforced errors. Kazhmazov made 38 unforced errors.
Musetti saved a break point in the second game of the opening set. The Olympic bronze medallist earned three break points. Musetti converted his third break point in the seventh game after a forehand error from Kazhmarov. Kazhmarov saved three set points in the ninth game to hold serve at deuce. Musetti served out on his fourth set point in the 10th game.
Musetti faced two break points at the start of the second set, but he saved them with two backhands. The 2024 Wimbledon semifinalist earned a break in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. He broke for the second time in the fifth game and served out the won on his second match point.
Musetti is ranked 15th in the ATP Race to Turin, just 865 points behind eighth-placed Alex De Minaur.
“Kazhmazov was solid. He was really impressive from the beginning, and it was not easy to break or to hold serve. I think it was one of my best performances so far on serve and I am really happy to be in the final”, said Musetti. Musetti set up a final match against Chinese Next Gen player Shang Juncheng, who cruised past Yannick Hanfmann 6-4 6-4 after 89 minutes.
