Pune: Making a debut at the Tata Open Maharashtra, Lorenzo Musetti will be keen to make his mark and win his maiden singles title at the fourth edition of South Asia’s only ATP 250 event to be held at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune.
The second seed will start as one of the strong contenders for the singles title at the tournament which will witness a strong competition in the presence of top players including World No. 15 Aslan Karatsev and defending champion Jiri Vesely.
The tournament, scheduled from January 31 to February 6, will be organised by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association.
The 19-year-old suffered first-round defeats at the season opener Adelaide 1 and Australian Open. However, the Monte Carlo-based player said he will look to produce some quality performances at the tournament and get the momentum going ahead.
“I played two good matches with two really great opponents. They showed they were playing best tennis and both the matches were close,” Musetti told the media during a virtual press conference on Sunday.
“I’m here to win matches. I will try to go as far as I can and get the confidence that I used to have,” he further added.A Roger Federer fan, Musetti is one of the few players in the world with a strong single-handed backhand and he said it came naturally.
Musetti had an impressive 2021 wherein he broke into the Top-100, made Grand Slam debut and had two sets lead against the World No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the French Open match but retired in the fifth set.
He rated that match as one of the best of his career. “It helped me to understand a lot of things like I can be on that level and can reach there with my game.
It was helpful especially for a young player who is coming on the tour. I hope to reach that level again and to play a lot of matches like that one,” Musetti concluded.
