Lorenzo Musetti and Martina Trevisan put Team Italy getting ready to the Brisbane City Finals on the United Cup on Monday with tight wins in opposition to Team Norway.
Musetti handed his nation a 2-0 lead when he clawed previous World No. 343 Viktor Durasovic 7-6(7), 6-2. The Italian confronted set level at 6/7 within the first-set tie-break, however Durasovic was unable to regulate a backhand passing shot up the road.
From there, two-time ATP Tour titlist Musetti discovered his type and rolled to a one-hour, -minute victory.
It was Musetti’s second win of the United Cup, having additionally defeated Brazil’s Felipe Meligeni Alves. The 20-year-old is at a career-high No. 23 within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Matteo Berrettini has an opportunity to clinch the tie and victory in Group E for Italy when he performs World No. 3 Casper Ruud on Tuesday. If Norway manages a shocking comeback, Brazil will high the group and advance to the Brisbane City Finals.
Photo Credit: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
In the primary match of the day on Pat Rafter Arena, World No. 27 Martina Trevisan fought off an impressed efficiency from World No. 321 Malene Helgo. The 29-year-old Italian wanted greater than three hours to dispatch the Norwegian, profitable 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to publish her first win of the season.
Having defeated Brazil 3-2 in its opening tie, Italy wants a victory over Norway to advance to the Brisbane City Finals. If Norway can engineer an upset over the fifth seeds, Brazil will end on the high of Group E and advance to Wednesday’s City Finals.
Helgo, who made her WTA Tour debut in her opening loss to Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, gave the closely favoured Italians a scare. Behind her phenomenal ball-striking from the baseline, the 23-year-old performed effectively above her sub-300 rating to construct an early 5-2 lead over Trevisan.
But the 2022 French Open semi-finalist dug in to drag off a gritty comeback to take the opening set. Trevisan used her physicality and court docket imaginative and prescient to increase the factors and shrink the court docket for Helgo, who started to misfire underneath stress. The Italian saved two set factors en path to operating off 5 consecutive video games to take the primary set.
Undeterred, Helgo once more constructed an early lead on the Italian veteran within the second set. This time she wouldn’t relinquish it. The closing set was one other see-saw set, as Helgo clawed her approach again from a 4-1 deficit to degree at 4-4 earlier than Trevisan broke her one final time to seal the hard-fought win after three hours and two minutes.