Lorenzo Musetti has been a happy camper in the last couple of weeks, reaching the semi-final at the ATP 500 event in Acapulco and the
Miami Open third round.
A teenager defeated Michael Mmoh and Benoit Paire to reach the last 32 in Miami, playing on a high level and setting the clash against
Marin Cilic. The Struggling Croat proved to be too strong for the youngster, beating him 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 14 minutes, dropping only 13 points in ten service games and earning one break in each set to advance into the next round.
Pleased about how he played at these two tournaments, Musseti said that he still has to work hard to reach the top level, understanding that Marin overpowered him in many segments.
"I think I played on my highest level these weeks. The experience I got from these weeks is incredible, having a chance to compete against notable and established rivals. Sometimes we saw that I could even beat them. Facing guys like Marin Cilic, there are no second chances; you have to take the first one. Even in challenging moments, those experience players know how to bring their best tennis, and you have to match that to beat them.
It's not easy for me, as I play at this level for the first time. But I am getting used to it, and I learned a lot during these two weeks. Now I will go home and try to put on the practice court what I have learned. I have to be strong at this level because I was pushed almost two meters back, outplayed by Marin, who is bigger and stronger than me. I need to grow and work out to get to this level physically.
I will try to play closer to the baseline and work on the same things that I am working with the forehand, control the rallies, be aggressive and move to the net quickly. I will practice and train physically because I played a lot in these three weeks; I will try to recover and adapt to the physical conditions on clay because the movement and slides are different," Lorenzo Musetti said.