Unknowingly, "2022 ATP Tennis Timeline" has been written seven times. In the first seven articles, the post-80s giants Djokovic and Nadal were introduced; 95 post-leaders Sitsipas and Kyrgios; Post-00s rookies Alcaraz, Aliassime, Rune, fans who like these tennis players can go to the article written by the author. Today I will bring you the eighth article in this series.
2021 is the year when Djokovic broke the monopoly of the clay god Nadal on the French Open, won the second French Open title of his career, and took the lead in completing the feat of a double-lap Grand Slam. However, perhaps many fans do not know that Djokovic has been driven into a desperate situation by the other side in two of his seven matches at the French Open this year. One of these two players is the Greek star Tsitsipas that the author once introduced, and the other player is the post-00 player Musetti that the author will introduce today.
It is worth mentioning that this is the first time that post-00 player Musetti has appeared in a Grand Slam main tournament. Reaching a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, he defeated former French Open quarterfinalist Goffin in the first round to achieve his first career Grand Slam victory. He has since beaten Asian player Yoshihito Nishioka and former French Open quarterfinalist Cecinato to reach the round of 16 on his first career Grand Slam trip. His next opponent was Serbian king Djokovic, and everyone expected Musetti to be swept out in three sets.
However, in the match, he won two sets first by tie-breaking, and once saw the dawn of victory. At a time when many fans complained online and vented, many people lost confidence in Djokovic. Serbian king Djokovic adjusted in time, sending churros on one plate and swallowing eggs on the other. In the final set, he scored consecutive points, and Musetti, who was completely stunned, chose to withdraw in desperation. Despite this, he made all the fans remember the name Musetti.
Time enters 2022, when post-00 rookies Alcaraz, Rune and Aliassime have all made breakthroughs, Musetti has always been tepid, and gradually many people have lost patience with him. However, it is gold that always shines. In July, at the ATP 500 Hamburg Open, Musetti won two sets in a row after losing one set in the first round to advance to the cut. Since then, he has swept his opponent in three consecutive matches and reached the final.
In the final, his opponent is none other than Alcaraz, who exploded strongly in 2022. Before the game, neither public opinion nor fans were optimistic about Musetti, but the result was a surprise. In the final, Musetti took the lead, and after missing a serve in the second set and being won by his opponent, he showed extra calmness in scoring. He defeated his opponent in the tiebreaker to claim his first career tour title, Musetti's first ATP 500 title.
Life goes on, and so does Musetti's breakthrough. He defeated Goffin again in the first round of the US Open, and then defeated a qualifier to reach the last 32 of the US Open for the first time in his career. He also won his second career tour title at the ATP 250 Naples Open, Musetti's first hard court title.
After winning this title, Musetti's performance on the pitch appeared more calm and confident. He reached the quarterfinals of the Masters for the first time in his career after defeating former US Open champion Cilic and former Chinese Open champion Bashirashvili and double runner-up Ruud at the French Open and US Open.
However, just when we thought he was about to continue to create glory, Musetti was overshadowed by Serbian king Djokovic in two sets. A few days ago, in the 2022 New Forces Finals, he lost two games in a row and was eclipsed after winning one game in the group stage. It is worth mentioning that in the 2021 New Forces Finals, Musetti only achieved a record of one win and two losses in the group stage, and had no choice but to accept the fate of being eliminated.
2022 is a year for Musetti to make a breakthrough and regret even more. Despite this, this year, he still had a good performance. What will he achieve in the days ahead? Let's wait and see! (Source: Tennis House Author: Yixin Jushi)
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