The race of Lorenzo Sonego and Lorenzo Musetti towards the upper floors of Roland Garros stops in the second round. They were the last Italians still in contention in the second slam of the season, but they found the door barred in the challenges with the Russian Karen Khachanov (n.11 in the world) for the Turin and with the world n.1 Carlos Alcaraz for the Tuscan. Both have however come out of the most important tournament on clay with their heads held high, where in the meantime Novak Djokovic has also reached the quarterfinals, who will be in front of Khachanov.
"For a set and a half he played too well: I really didn't know what to do," commented the Russian at the end of the match with Sonego, who won 1-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-1, after almost three and a half hours of fighting. The Italian, n.48 ATP, missed a set-point in the tie-break of the second fraction, then paid with a problem in his right thigh the fatigue for the marathon against Andrej Rublev last Friday. "Physically I didn't have any more, I gave everything - confirmed Sonego - I have some regrets but I fought on a par with one of the strongest players. I started as an underdog, and in any case I managed to have my say". "I started very well, in the first set he had a low percentage of first serve and I could command with my feet inside the court - he explained again - Then the exchanges lengthened, the match became harder, I had no more chances to command and I could not make breaks when I could have ". And the Turinese now intends to work on the physical: "Technically I am getting very close to the best but on a physical level I have great room for improvement. After the five sets with Rublev I have to be able to maintain that form and that lucidity, without having any drops."
Musetti also started very well against Alcaraz, but the Spaniard was not surprised after suffering the break in the first game, immediately raising the level of his game just to avoid surprises. So the Tuscan from 2-0 found himself down 2-5 against a rival increasingly quick to put his feet on the field, more incisive in response and in the grip of the net. "I played a complete game," commented the world No.1, who won 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in just over two hours. For Musetti this is the third defeat in three matches against a Top 10 in the Slams, a sign that even he despite the enormous progress still has a few steps to climb to be at their level.
Alcaraz is twenty years old, Djokovic is 36, but with equal ease he got rid of his opponent, however more modest than Musetti, the Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas, swept away in less than two hours of play and the score of 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. The current world number 3 has shown again how, especially in top tournaments, his level grows day by day, to go hunting for the 23rd slam in his career. Meanwhile, he became the player with the most qualifiers in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, seventeen, beating the record that belonged to his long-time rival, Rafa Nadal.
