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Lorenzo Musetti returns to the quarter-finals of a Masters 1000 after more than a year and does so on a surface that until not long ago represented one of his least congenial terrains. In Cincinnati, however, the hard court continues to give him good sensations: in an hour and a quarter the Carrarino beat the Portuguese Jaime Faria, number 79 in the world, with a score of 7-5 6-2.
Musetti started strong, immediately breaking his opponent’s serve. Faria managed to get back to 4-4, but the blue player didn’t lose his clarity: new break at 5-5 and the first set closed in the following serve.
Three wins without losing a set
In the second set the initial script was similar, with one substantial difference: this time Musetti did not give the Portuguese the opportunity to return. After the first break he extended further to 4-1, then controlled the advantage until the final 6-2.
For the blue it is the third consecutive victory in two sets. The opponents faced so far were all further back in the standings, but the journey remains precious above all for regaining continuity and confidence after the long stop following the Rome Internationals.
Tiafoe is in the quarterfinals
Now the level is raised. In the quarterfinals Musetti will find Frances Tiafoe, particularly treacherous on home hardcourt. The American has already eliminated Lorenzo Sonego and his compatriot Tien, before signing a prestigious victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime, world number four and second seed in the tournament.
Zverev and Sabalenka out
Meanwhile, Cincinnati loses two other leading players. World number two Alexander Zverev was eliminated, defeated by Tommy Paul at the end of a very long match interrupted several times by rain. The German also had a match point in the tie-break of the second set, but was unable to exploit it.
Also out is the number one in the women’s ranking Aryna Sabalenka, beaten in two sets by Sára Bejlek. The Czech, born in 2006 and number 35 in the world, confirms herself as one of the emerging young people of her country’s movement. For Sabalenka, however, a period of success continues: she hasn’t won a title since the end of March and had already left after three matches in Toronto.
Even for Zverev the approach to the US Open is not proceeding in the best way. With doubts still present about the participation of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the two Masters 1000s in August could have given them an even more marked role among the favorites for New York. The only four matches played overall in the two tournaments, however, tell a different story for now.