The mental strength he showed in the second set when he was resurrected after saving five match points did not prevent Carlos Alcaraz from losing the first final of his career on Sunday and being overtaken after almost three hours by Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6 -7 (6) and 6-4, new conqueror of the Hamburg tournament.
The Murcian player who faced the final match of the competition with the favourite’s band held out as long as he could. A condition that has earned him driven by an outstanding year that has taken him to the noble part of the ranking.
Despite the defeat, Alcaraz will be the fifth player in the world on Monday, his best record. He is the youngest to achieve it since Rafael Nadal achieved it in 2005.
It was not the best match for the player who, along with Nadal, has the best harvest of 2022. No one has won more than the Balearic and the Murcian, with four trophies each so far. He had the fifth close to Alcaraz who could not get ahead at any time in the final with Musetti in a duel between two of the main exponents of the new generation of this sport.
After having emerged triumphant from the finals of the Masters 1000 in Madrid and Miami and the tournaments in Barcelona and Sao Paulo, just like last year, when he began his successful run in Umag, he crashed on this occasion, in Hamburg, against a inexperienced rival in these situations.
He held on to the track until the end. He saved five match points in the second set that he won to lengthen the duel to the maximum for a victory that was not his at the end.
The tennis player from Carrara, one of the standard-bearers of the promising litter that Italy has, had stalled in each of the semifinals he had faced. It was not like that in Hamburg and after beating the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo he settled in his first final.
Neither the stage nor the bet weighed on him and he knew how to play the Spanish, already consolidated as one of the best in the world and the most successful, along with Rafael Nadal, so far in 2022.
“Musetti deserved the victory. He has been better in this final and we have to congratulate him. I have to work hard to be able to win more titles”, acknowledged Alcaraz after the final.
Hamburg, where the Spanish Pablo Carreño triumphed last year, did not see the best version of Alcaraz in the final. The kick from him didn’t hurt Musetti, firmer in the shots and without symptoms of pressure.
After an atypical start, with breaks on both sides in the first two games, there were no surprises until in the seventh the Alpine player took advantage of his chance. He broke and held the type while Alcaraz could not find a way to embarrass the opponent.
The panorama was worse for the Murcian because he started the second set with the loss of his serve. Unlike in the first set, he was not able to balance afterwards and faced the set unbalanced. He failed each time to break and start over. But Musetti was firm with the service.
A 0-40 in the eighth encouraged Alcaraz but the transalpine did not shake his pulse. He did not hesitate and kept the advantage. It was almost the last occasion for the Spanish. He tried the next. He protested a key action when the Carrara returned a dropshot after dribbling twice. It was decisive. It was a 0-30 that became 15-15 and that the Spanish claimed. Justly. Still he clung to success. He saved two match points and equalized the set.
Alcaraz was remade, who took the sleeve to the ‘tie break’. Everything began for the Murcian who seemed to recover, at times, his best level. But Musetti also got up and did not feel the disappointment of previous occasions. He had the victory in his hand but the Spaniard saved another three final balls, turned the score around and took the game to the decisive part.
Equality was maintained and Musetti showed signs of maturity. He recovered from the blow, maintained regularity and took advantage of his chance. He came in the tenth game. He did not fail and, to the rest, he definitively closed the game.
Alcaraz conceded his first loss in a final. A new experience for the Murcian who leaves Hamburg without a trophy but the number five in the world in his pocket. Musetti climbs twenty places. Monday will be 31, his best ranking.
