Tsitsipas Ready For "Serious Business" Against Musetti
Stefanos Tsitsipas says it will be “serious business” on Saturday when he meets Lorenzo Musetti in the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon semi-finals.
The World No. 5 beat the #NextGenATP Italian 6-1, 6-3 in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC semi-finals on 20 March, but knows that their Lyon last-four clash will be very different.
“We played in different conditions [and] on a hard court,” said Tsitsipas, following his 6-3, 6-4 quarter-final victory over Yoshihito Nishioka in Lyon.
“The conditions here are different. We share similar games with a one-handed backhand, which is beautiful to see. Tomorrow is going to be serious business and I know he can play well on this surface and elevate his game.”
[WATCH LIVE 1]The 19-year-old Musetti played seven matches in seven days on the Acapulco hard courts and has since gone 10-6 on the season, including wins over Felix Auger-Aliassime, Sebastian Korda and Aljaz Bedene this week.
“He is one of the best guys on Tour,” said Musetti on Friday. “Acapulco was really tough for me as I played a lot of matches and I didn’t have enough energy to play 100 per cent. He served really well, and he played well with the forehand, moving me around a lot. I will try to lead the match and try not have him dominate me.”
Watch Tsitsipas v Musetti Acapulco Semi-final Highlights
Tsitsipas, the ATP Tour match wins leader this season with a 31-8 record, has been working on different aspects of his game at the ATP 250 clay-court event and has followed Musetti’s progress since their 20 March clash in Mexico.
“I have been following his performances, he has been improving a lot and has a good record on clay, beating some good opponents,” said Tsitsipas. “I expect big things for him.”
The 22-year-old will be attempting to reach his 16th ATP Tour final (6-9) on Saturday, and continue the kind of form that took him to last month’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters crown (d. Rublev).
For Musetti, the youngest player in the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, it will be an opportunity to record the second Top 10 win of his career (he beat No. 9 Schwartzman in the Acapulco first round) for a place in his first championship match.