Alex de Minaur has had the most scorching clay-court spell of his career finally doused in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters in a nail-biting loss to Lorenzo Musetti.
Seeking to become the first Australian since John Newcombe in 1969 to reach the final of the prestigious Masters 1000 event, De Minaur continued surfing on his extraordinary wave of success over the week by blasting past his Italian opponent, taking the first set 6-1.
Following his astounding “double bagel” 6-0, 6-0 quarter-final win over Grigor Dimitrov and his 6-2, 6-2 pounding of Daniil Medvedev in the last-16, another swift win for the newly ruthless ‘Demon’ looked on the cards at the Monte Carlo Country Club.
But with the rain beginning to niggle away, De Minaur’s magic spell began to desert him amid a sparkling comeback from Musetti, cheered to the rafters by a huge Italian contingent on Court Rainier III, and the Australian eventually succumbed 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4), losing the deciding tie-break after close to three hours on court.
Musetti advances to his first ATP 1000 final and will face Carlos Alcaraz, who stormed into his first Masters showpiece in 13 months by beating his fellow Spaniard, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 7-6 (2), 6-4.
In a gruelling encounter, Davidovich Fokina saved three set points in the first and five match points in the second as Alcaraz struggled to break him down. The world No 3 took the first set on a tie-break and lifted his service game in the second set, in which he did not face a single break point.
“It’s been a long time,” Alcaraz said after reaching his first Masters final since he won at Indian Wells last year. “I just had to be patient and believe that this moment was going to come again.”
The 21-year-old sealed the win with a sizzling forehand winner down the line to move into his first final in Monte Carlo. The two shared a warm embrace at the net and a laugh before Alcaraz praised his compatriot.
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“I think I played really good tennis from the beginning until the last point,” Alcaraz added. “I tried to take the chances he gave me in the match. He saved a lot of break points and match points, but I’m really happy… The most important thing is that I’m feeling great physically.”
Sunday’s final has been rescheduled to take place three hours earlier than initially planned because heavy rain is forecast for the evening in Monaco.
Source: theguardian.com
