Last year’s Australian Open Junior champion Lorenzo Musetti came back from 0-4 down to beat Yannick Hanfmann 6-2 6-4 in 88 minutes at the Sardinia Open at the Forte Village in Santa Margherita Pula.
Musetti, who has been coached by Simone Tartarini since the age of 8, has become the youngest ATP Tour semifinalist since 18-year-old Jannik Sinner at the 2019 European Open in Antwerp.
Musetti went up a double break to open up a 4-0 lead. The Italian teenager did not any break points in his next service games to win the first set 6-2.
Hanfmann broke twice in a row to take a 4-0 lead. The German player got the double break in a very long fourth game on his fifth chance. Musetti won six consecutive games with three breaks in a row to clinch the second set 6-4.
Musetti avenged his recent defeat against Hanfmann, who won their recent head-to-head clash at the ATP Challenger in Todi last August by the scoreline of 3-6 6-4 6-3.
Musetti beat Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori en route to reaching the third round at the Rome Masters 1000 last September and won his first ATP Challenger Tour in Forlì after beating four top 100 players Frances Tiafoe, Andreas Seppi, Lloyd Harris and Thiago Monteiro.
“I think I can play well on every surface. The first tournament of next year will be in Australia, and I always play well there. I play well on hard courts. I hope to continue as I have been and break into the top 100 before the start of 2021”, said Musetti.
Musetti set up a semifinal match against Serbia’s Laslo Djere, advanced to his tenth ATP Tour semifinal with a 6-4 6-4 win over Jiri Vesely. The Serbian player broke once at 3-2 in both sets.
Marco Cecchinato came back from one set down to beat Albert Ramos Vinolas 4-6 6-4 6-1. Albert Ramos Vinolas broke twice in a row to race out to a 5-1 lead. Cecchinato pulled one break back in the eighth game on his fifth chance at deuce to claw his way back to 3-5. Ramos Vinolas served out the first set with a hold at love.
Both players traded breaks in the second and third games. Cecchinato earned a double break in the fourth and sixth games to win the second set 6-1. Cecchinato broke three times to win the third set 6-1. Cecchinato has a record of 17 wins to 6 defeats since the ATP Tour resumed last August. Cecchinato will play his first semifinal since Munich 2019.
“I am back to my best shape. The birth of my son Edoardo gave me a lot of energy. The other reason for my recent results is the relationship to my coach Max Sartori”, said Cecchinato.
Cecchinato set up a semifinal match against Serbian lucky loser Danilo Petrovic, who beat Federico Delbonis 7-6 (7-3) 6-1. Petrovic saved four break points to hold his serve in the fourth game at deuce. Both players traded breaks in the fifth and sixth games and held serve en route to the tie-break. Petrovic won the tie-break 7-3 on his third set point. The Serbian player broke twice in the fourth and sixth games to win the second set 6-1.
