Tennis: Sinner gets hurt, Musetti knocked out. The final fades to Sofia

 Lorenzo Musetti defeated and Jannik Sinner knocked out by an injury.

The all-Italian final prediction at the ATP 250 tournament in Sofia fades in an unexpected way and, for the South Tyrolean, even painful.

Sinner, who was a two-time title holder and number one favorite, runs into yet another accident of a complicated season and now we will have to wait to understand the extent of the damage to his right ankle, suffered in an unexpected movement during a lateral transition to the baseline. .

The match against the 19-year-old Danish Holger Rune was already in a complicated phase for the blue: back 3-2 to the third and with a break to recover, the injury forced him to raise the white flag despite a courageous attempt to resume the game.

The trophy in the Bulgarian capital will be contested tomorrow between Rune and the Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler, who eliminated Musetti in two sets.

The Tuscan, virtually n.26 in the world, was favored over the Swiss but yields 7-6, 7-5 to his rival, 26-year-old n.95 with acute career rates.

Clearer on paper but more insidious in reality was the predictable advantage for Sinner, n.10 in the world and 'master' of the tournament, over the very young but rampant Rune, who after losing the first game does not demoralize by winning the second and then collecting the victory, not undeserved, for the bad luck of the South Tyrolean.

Sinner starts well, even in a balanced set and on the third occasion he manages to get the break that within an hour of play makes him land at 7-5.

The balance of 16 points to ten in long exchanges is significant,

testimony of the greater safety of the blue in maneuver and explains Rune's insistence in going to the net even at the cost of making more mistakes.

Thus Sinner's empty pass arrives really unexpectedly, losing his service for the first time, and to zero, in the middle of the second set.

Rune, who plays a decidedly aggressive game even by his standards, climbs 3-2 and conquering 12 points out of 14 from 1-2 to 4-2, extends to the third set by winning 6-4.

The Dane appears very reactive while Sinner is physically less and less brilliant and more rigid and immediately goes under a break, due to a succession of measurement errors.

who loses his serve for the first time, and to zero, in the middle of the second set.

Rune, who plays a decidedly aggressive game even by his standards, climbs 3-2 and conquering 12 points out of 14 from 1-2 to 4-2, extends to the third set by winning 6-4.

The Dane appears very reactive while Sinner is physically less and less brilliant and more rigid and immediately goes under a break, due to a succession of measurement errors.

who loses his serve for the first time, and to zero, in the middle of the second set.

Rune, who plays a decidedly aggressive game even by his standards, climbs 3-2 and conquering 12 points out of 14 from 1-2 to 4-2, extends to the third set by winning 6-4.

The Dane appears very reactive while Sinner is physically less and less brilliant and more rigid and immediately goes under a break, due to a succession of measurement errors.

At 3-2, then, the fear of the body increases.

The blue puts his foot badly and plants his right ankle, stays on the ground and then gets up with difficulty while Rune, in the meantime approaching, picks up his racket and takes it to the bench.

He walks stiffly, Sinner, to whom his right ankle is bandaged. His expression is a mixture of anger and frustration, and at the same time a stubborn desire not to retreat.

But the will is not enough and after a few hits, he raises the white flag.

More linear, and banal, Musetti's defeat against Huesler against Huesler, condemned by details, but of those that make a difference.

In his first final on fast indoor the Tuscan does not take advantage of the tie break of the first set in which he is ahead 5-1, losing it 7-5, and for the last game of the second set in which he suffers the only break of the match,

which gives the Swiss the final 7-5.

After eliminating Pablo Carreno Busta and saving two match points to the Polish Kamil Majchrczak, Huesler reaches the first final in his career and will enter for the first time in the top 80 in the world.