Amazing Alcaraz sweeps past Musetti to race into quarter-finals at ATP China Open

Sunday, 01 October 2023 at 11:37

Carlos Alcaraz swept past Lorenzo Musetti in the Round of 16 at the ATP China Open to secure his place in the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

World No. 2 Alcaraz faced qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in the first round of the ATP 500 event, defeating the World No. 53 in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Meanwhile, World No. 18 Musetti moved past newly-crowned Zhuhai championships victor Karen Khachanov with more difficulty, losing the second set before coming back in the decider to win 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.

The Italian led their head-to-head 1-0 ahead of this match, having ousted the two-time Grand Slam champion in the final of the 2022 Hamburg Open after a three-set battle. However, today could not have been more different with Alcaraz confidently controlling the match throughout.

Alcaraz saves some incredible points to ensure victory

The Spaniard made it clear that he was on form today with an early break in the first set giving him a 2-1 lead. He then went on to ace his opponent in the first point of his service game but Musetti did put up some of a fight by contributing to some thrilling rallies. He concluded one of these with a solid drop shot that earned him the point.

Nevertheless, Alcaraz was able to demonstrate some incredible pick-ups in these rallies and stayed firm to efficiently secure the double break. As the 20-year-old attained a 5-1 lead, Musetti managed to get another game on the board as he held his serve 40-0 in an attempt to show his opponent that he was still somewhat in the match.

However, this was not enough to stage a comeback despite the 21-year-old achieving a break point in Alcaraz's next service game. Musetti then hit the ball out twice to give the former World No. 1 advantage and set point, which Alcaraz secured by sending his opponent running and ultimately causing him to hit the ball into the net.

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The second set was mostly a repeat of the first, with Alcaraz winning another double break before Musetti won his service game to take the score to 5-2. Alcaraz then served for the set, acing Musetti for 15-0 before going on to win the game and the match with relative ease.