The Murcian, who saved five match points, falls for the first time in an ATP 500 final and breaks his spectacular streak
Carlos Alcaraz had won all fourteen ATP 500 matches he had played this season. A 14-0 that earned him the titles in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona and the final in Hamburg. Until Lorenzo Musetti appeared. The Italian defeated him in a marathon match 6-4, 6-7 (6) and 6-4, in which the epic of the Spaniard could not triumph, who saved five championship points in the second set.
Alcaraz, who opted for his fifth title of the season in Hamburg, made too many mistakes in a very inconsistent game that, had it not been for the exploits he committed in the twilight of the second set, he should have lost much sooner. He maintained, yes, his 45-match run in 2022 where he won at least one set and he did it with an incredible second set, with controversy, suspense and five match points raised by the Murcian.
Musetti, who had faltered a bit after his brilliant performance in Rome a few years ago and his Roland Garros in which he had Novak Djokovic in the shot with a two-set lead, played a near-perfect game to 6-4 and 5-4. There, the Italian served for the game. And the circus began. With 0-15 in favor of Alcaraz, Musetti returned a ball after a double bounce. The chair umpire failed to see the foul and Musetti kept quiet so, despite the Murcian’s protests, the point went to his rival’s scoreboard and the replay left the transalpine a cheater.
That incident moved Alcaraz, who lost the next two runs and was out. Two title points in favor of Musetti, two saves. Alcaraz reappeared without knowing how and led the second set to a tiebreak in which he went from 3-1 in favor to 3-6 for the Italian. Three more match points, two on service and one on return.
Alcaraz saved them all, while Musetti cursed his luck. At the first set point the Spaniard had, a double fault from his rival and the third. The 45-game streak with at least one set continued and Alcaraz gave himself another chance to try and win in Hamburg, a tournament that Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer have won in the past.
A self-destruct was expected from the Italian who at the age of 20 had never won a trophy of this caliber. In fact, he had never won an ATP title until this Sunday. It helped him start first in the third and solve every serve without allowing Alcaraz a single ‘break’ ball. He always saw himself ahead and rose until the Spaniard, who was never comfortable in the game, collapsed.
Musetti generated the sixth match point in the psychological tenth match and a long ball from Alcaraz confirmed the defeat in Hamburg. There were no bad faces or reproaches on the part of the Spaniard, who apparently had reason to complain in the double pot of the second set. Hug, congratulations and next time it will be.
This Monday Alcaraz wakes up as number five in the world, the best position of his career, and he is second in the race to Turin, where this year’s Masters Cup will be held. His next stop is this week in Umag (Croatia), also on clay and where he defends the title won last year.
Source: La Verdad
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
