Italian Open 2020: 18 years old Lorenzo Musetti stuns Stan Wawrinka

Italian Open 2020: 18 years old Lorenzo Musetti stuns Stan Wawrinka

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Lorenzo Musetti

18 years old Lorenzo Musetti stuns the three- time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, thundering past with a 6-0, 7-6 (7/2) victory over the 10th seed. The World 249th aced his first win on professional circuit in the first round of Italian Open on Tuesday.

10th seed crashes out with a humiliating defeat to rank 249th

Stan Wawrinka

Musetti dashed within first 33 minutes taking a 6-0, 2-0 lead as Wawrinka made a series of mistakes.. The oldest player of the tournament tried bouncing back after trailing 2-0 in the second set, only to get toppled off by the youngest as he took over the second tie-break and the match overall.

Musetti who aced the first eight games, reflected back on his win, “In the first set and the beginning of the second there was no match.” Post this, as Wawrinka aimed for an upturn, the Italian kept striking winners and delicate drop volleys. Bagging more aces than his opponent with 5 to 3, he said, “I kept thinking, ”I’m up a set and a break against Wawrinka and he is starting to click now.”

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“Everything was in place for me to fail. But I”ve been working on the mental aspect of the game the most, and I”ve improved a lot over the last month”, he went on to say post his groundbreaking victory. “To get win my first match here in Rome — unfortunately without fans — I don”t have words to describe it,” he added.

Enjoying his heroic victory over Wawrinka as he waits for his next battle against Japanese Kei Nishikori in the second round, Musetti remarked on his opponent, “I have seen him play on television and I know he is a very tough player. I’m going to enjoy the victory before I start thinking about my match against Nishikori,” he added. The Italian’s coach Simone Tartarini had stated the match as an “impossible mission” for his mentee before the face-off. “But Lorenzo likes this kind of situation, so he’s very motivated,” he added.

Musetti, who needed a wild card to get into the qualifying tournament, now becomes one of a record eight Italians to reach the second round in Rome.

Also read: Italian Open 2020: Angelique Kerber crashes out in Round 1, Irina-Camelia Begu and Anett Kontaveit ease to Round 2