Musetti lifts aggression to secure Cagliari Challenger SF spot

Lorenzo Musetti claimed just one of the first eight games Friday before a crucial tactical change helped him rally past Nuno Borges at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Cagliari, Italy.

After starting the match struggling to find his best level, cracking the ball deep beyond the baseline, the second seed retreated to a more aggressive stance, taking time away from Borges. The free hitting loosened up the Italian, who hammered his groundstrokes from all corners to down the Portuguese player 1-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Despite making just 37 per cent of his first serves in the opening set, the home favourite found greater consistency amidst gusty conditions as the match wore on, booking his place in the Sardegna Open semi-finals.

“The key of the match was I started playing more aggressive, starting with the serve. I was more solid on the first serve,” said Musetti, who won 10 consecutive games after trailing 1-6, 0-1. “That helped me a lot to turn it around and on the forehand, create more spin and he was struggling with that. It was not an easy match, especially after the first set and then a break down. The crowd helped me a lot to motivate me to do better and turn it back. I’m glad that I did it.”

^{Lorenzo Musetti greets fans after his quarter-final win in Cagliari. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour}

Musetti next faces Colombian and last year’s semi-finalist Daniel Elahi Galan, who advanced to the last four after Hungarian Marton Fucsovics withdrew with a right wrist injury.

Also in Cagliari, Argentine Mariano Navone survived Emilio Nava 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) after a two-hour, 48-minute battle that featured four breaks of serve in the decider. Navone, seeded third, rallied from 1-4 in the final set and served for the match at 5-4 before keeping his calm in the tie-break to advance.

Up next for the two-time ATP Tour finalist Navone is home hope Luciano Darderi. The No. 60 in the PIF ATP Rankings led Federico Coria 6-1, 3-4 when the Argentine retired (right thigh).

Valentin Vacherot was among four players to pull double duty at the Aix Open Provence Credit Agricole, where the Monegasque downed Felipe Meligeni Alves 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) before returning to court in the afternoon and dispatching Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4.

The 25-year-old Vacherot, who boasts a standout 18-1 record on the ATP Challenger Tour this season, is into his fourth semi-final of the year at that level.

“Feeling amazing. It was a long day, five sets played and 7-6 in the third this morning. I’m just out here doing my thing, focussing on myself and right now it’s working perfectly,” Vacherot said. “I won a big one this morning and I think it helped me lose the tension for the afternoon. I came out here swinging and played a good match against Gasquet.”

^{Valentin Vacherot during Friday's quarter-final at the Aix-en-Provence Challenger. Credit: Nicolas Averty}

Vacherot next meets third seed Alejandro Tabilo in the last four after the Chilean beat Hugo Gaston 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 and led Facundo Bagnis 6-0 before the Argentine retired.

In the bottom half of the draw, fourth seed Roman Safiullin ousted Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-2 and Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 7-6(5) to book his spot in the semi-finals, where he will go against Jaume Munar. The Spaniard overcame Alexandre Muller 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 before upsetting second seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-4 in the quarters.

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