Lorenzo Musetti is flying higher than ever, and based on his performance on Thursday evening, the #NextGenATP Italian has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
Musetti battled past gritty American wild card Michael Mmoh 6-4, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Miami Open presented by Itau. This was the teen’s Miami debut and his first ATP Masters 1000 match on hard courts.
“It’s really nice. It’s my first time here [in Miami]. Last week was a fantastic run in Acapulco,” Musetti said in his on-court interview. “Michael, I knew he was a great opponent. I played a really good match, it was a tough match. [It was] really intense and I really enjoyed [playing] here. I’m really happy.”
The 19-year-old enjoyed the best run of his young career last week in Acapulco, where he qualified and reached the semi-finals of an ATP 500 event for the first time. Musetti earned his first Top 10 win against Diego Schwartzman in Mexico, and later ousted Grigor Dimitrov in what he believes was the best match of his young career.
Musetti, who became the youngest player in the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings this week, maintained his high level against Mmoh. Although the American battled hard in his home state, the Italian was too solid and came up with too many hot shots under pressure to advance after one hour and 38 minutes. The World No. 94 rallied from 0/40 down as he served out the match, saving his third break point in the game with a backhand laser down the line for a winner.
“I think my lethal weapon is the backhand down the line,” Musetti said. “It was a really tough moment [and] I came out with a fantastic backhand down the line. I think it’s one of my keys [to] improving my game.”
Musetti will next play 23rd seed Benoit Paire, who was in the stands watching the teen’s victory.
“He’s a really nice guy and is a fantastic player,” Musetti said. “He has had a lot of ups and downs in his career, but I think he plays incredible tennis. It will be really tough, but for sure it will be fun and a great experience.”