2 things that stood out in Lorenzo Musetti's 1R win over Elias Ymer at the Hamburg European Open
Defending champion Lorenzo Musetti defeated Sweden's Elias Ymer 6-4 6-1 in the first round of the Hamburg European Open on Tuesday, July 25. It was a straightforward win for the 21-year-old youngster after initial hiccups.
Musetti will take on Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia in the second round on Wednesday. He should be able to win that match on his favourite surface.
On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in the match between Lorenzo Musetti and Elias Ymer.
#1 Lorenzo Musetti defended brilliantly along the baseline
Although the final scoreline might suggest otherwise, Ymer was the more attacking player in the first set. He kept attacking the Italian with his powerful groundstrokes, but the ultra-slow conditions and some brilliant movement helped the latter retrieve the ball repeatedly.
Ymer found it very difficult to hit through his opponent, who kept moving laterally with enough speed to frustrate the former. Still, it was the 27-year-old Swedish who got an early break of serve to take a 3-1 lead in the first set.
However, Musetti then broke back to level the score. He then broke Ymer once again in the 10th game to win the first set. By the end of the first set, Ymer had lost much of his initial vim and the Italian started capitalizing on it.
#2 Musetti dictated terms from the ad court
Defending well was not the only thing that Lorenzo Musetti did on Tuesday. He was rampant from the ad court, hitting winners from there with his down-the-line backhands and inside-in forehands repeatedly to breach Elias Ymer's defence.
The Italian also used his crosscourt forehand extensively as the match progressed, thereby forcing Ymer to stretch towards his right. As a result, Ymer struggled to hit his forehand with enough power.
All of that enabled Musetti race to a 3-0 lead in the second set, breaking Ymer in the second game in the process. He then managed to extend his lead by breaking Ymer once again before finally serving the match out.
Ymer was able to win only 53 percent of the points on his first serve in the match, while Musetti managed a far more creditable 76 percent. It made the difference for the Italian in the end.
Lorenzo Musetti has won his sixth consecutive match in Hamburg and will take some stopping if he continues to play like he did against Ymer.