Stefanos Tsitsipas extended his lead for most wins on the ATP Tour to 32 by beating Lorenzo Musetti 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the semi-finals of the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon on Saturday. The Greek will now challenge Briton Cameron Norrie in his fourth final of the year.
"I think things got tough and I didn't freak out," Tsitsipas said. "I stayed calm and composed with my game. I think that with experience and knowledge of the past, I managed to escape from [one set down] and get a big lead in the third set where I was physically fresh."
Tsitsipas improves to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head Series against Musetti. Sitting at a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, he picked up his sixth title, and first ATP Masters 1000, at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters before reaching the final at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
[WATCH LIVE 1]
Despite the grandness of the occasion, Musetti showed no signs of nerves in the first set, breaking at 2-2 and showing off his wide array of shots. With Tsitsipas hanging back far behind the baseline, Musetti was effective in hitting drop shot after drop shot.
Tsitsipas stayed calm and took control in the second set, while Musetti couldn't maintain his level. After Tsitsipas broke at love for 5-3, he didn’t lose another game, racing to the finish line and into his 16th final.
"It was important I had a match like this," Tsitsipas said. "It makes me stay humble and focus on some detailed things I can potentially improve and get better at on clay."
Musetti is one of the newest and youngest faces inside of the Top 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. After a run to the Acapulco semi-finals, which ended at the hands of Tsitsipas, the 19-year-old Italian jumped from No. 120 to No. 94.
"He's definitely a competitor that I will take seriously and a player that will be challenging me in the next couple of years," Tsitsipas said. "I see him at the top. I see no reason why he won't be there, but that also has to do with his mentality and the way he approaches his tennis and how much he works hard to get to the top of the game."
Musetti’s week in Lyon began as an alternate and he took out seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round and backed it up with wins over Sebastian Korda and Aljaz Bedene.
"I think things got tough and I didn't freak out," Tsitsipas said. "I stayed calm and composed with my game. I think that with experience and knowledge of the past, I managed to escape from [one set down] and get a big lead in the third set where I was physically fresh."
Tsitsipas improves to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head Series against Musetti. Sitting at a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, he picked up his sixth title, and first ATP Masters 1000, at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters before reaching the final at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
[WATCH LIVE 1]
Despite the grandness of the occasion, Musetti showed no signs of nerves in the first set, breaking at 2-2 and showing off his wide array of shots. With Tsitsipas hanging back far behind the baseline, Musetti was effective in hitting drop shot after drop shot.
Tsitsipas stayed calm and took control in the second set, while Musetti couldn't maintain his level. After Tsitsipas broke at love for 5-3, he didn’t lose another game, racing to the finish line and into his 16th final.
"It was important I had a match like this," Tsitsipas said. "It makes me stay humble and focus on some detailed things I can potentially improve and get better at on clay."
Musetti is one of the newest and youngest faces inside of the Top 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. After a run to the Acapulco semi-finals, which ended at the hands of Tsitsipas, the 19-year-old Italian jumped from No. 120 to No. 94.
"He's definitely a competitor that I will take seriously and a player that will be challenging me in the next couple of years," Tsitsipas said. "I see him at the top. I see no reason why he won't be there, but that also has to do with his mentality and the way he approaches his tennis and how much he works hard to get to the top of the game."
Musetti’s week in Lyon began as an alternate and he took out seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round and backed it up with wins over Sebastian Korda and Aljaz Bedene.