Again a derby, again Jannick Sinner against Lorenzo Musetti.
At the Barcelona Open, on the red clay of the Catalan ATP 500, the two Azzurri will be the protagonists of the quarter-final match: a revenge for the 20-year-old from Carrara, defeated a week ago in Montecarlo by the South Tyrolean (again in the quarter ), which came after the feat against Novak Djokovic.
Sinner gave all his energy and fought not to lose the match which, after a good start, had gotten rather bad.
The blue, n.8 in the ranking and fourth favorite in the seeding, semifinalist in the Principality last week, after beating the Argentine Schwartzman 6-1 4-6 6- on his debut - directly in the second round - 3 the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka, n.35 ATP and 16th seeded.
A tough match in which the
blue also had to struggle with a hint of cramps in his left leg in the deciding set.
The start of the (unprecedented) challenge with Nishioka had given the illusion that for Sinner it would have been all downhill.
The 6-1 of the first set - with the blue ahead 3-0 after 11 minutes - seemed the prelude to an exhibition match, above all due to the abundance of unforced errors by the Japanese.
But in the second, the number 35 in the ranking adjusted his aim, while Sinner started to miss a few more shots, especially with his backhand.
Crazy set, with the two repeatedly breaking serve, and then returning it to the opponent in the next game.
Sinner, meanwhile, appeared at times very tired and with some beginnings of cramps.
In the end Nishioka prevailed 6-4 thanks to the fourth break.
L'
blue also risked in the third and decisive set.
In the second game he had to cancel a break point (1-1).
In the fifth again Nishioka gave up the serve (3-2).
However, Sinner did not take advantage of it, suffering two more breaks.
Thanks to the service (in part) recovered, he still extended up to 5-3.
In the ninth game, the Japanese saved the first two match-points, but the point of 6-3 arrived for Sinner in the third, who thus takes home one of the most painful affirmations of the year.
For Jannik it is victory number 26 of 2023, the seventh quarter-final out of eight tournaments.
Musetti, n.20 in the ranking and ninth seed, after eliminating the Australian Kubler, n.66 ATP in straight sets, beat in comeback 3-6 6-4 6-1, after more than two hours of play, the Briton Cameron Norrie.
And now he will face Sinner again for a place in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Rafa Nadal's season is getting more and more complicated.
The Spaniard, who suffered a second-degree iliopsoas muscle injury at the Australian Open in January, announced on social media that he will also miss the Masters 1000 in Madrid.
"For now, I've lost Monte Carlo and Barcelona. And unfortunately I won't be able to be in Madrid either," Nadal said in a video accompanied by a text, where he explains that "the injury hasn't healed yet. At the moment, I can't give any indications on when I'll go back to the field, because I don't know them."
In Munich, meanwhile, Flavio Cobolli lights up.
The Roman, number 208 in the world, hits the first ATP quarter-final of his career.
He beat Oscar Otte, number 94 and semifinalist a year ago, 6-0 3-6 6-3.
Virtually world number 179 thanks to this result according to real-time ranking projections, 29 places higher than his current ranking, Cobolli will face Australian Christopher O'Connell, ATP number 82, who ruined Alexander Zverev's 26th birthday , twice champion in Bavaria.
O'Connell closed 76(2) 64. Lorenzo Sonego, number 45 in the world, was defeated 6-4 7-6(3) by the Chilean Cristian Garin, number 86 in the ranking.