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Match details
Fixture: (4) Lorenzo Musetti vs Marc-Andrea Huesler.
Date: October 1, 2022.
Tournament: Sofia Open 2022.
Round: Semifinal.
Venue: Sofia, Bulgaria.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Indoor hardcourt.
Prize money: €534,555.
Match timing: Not before 4 pm local time, 1 pm GMT, 9 am ET and 6:30 pm IST.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video | Australia - beIN Sports.
Lorenzo Musetti vs Marc-Andrea Huesler preview
Fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti will lock horns with World No. 95 Marc-Andrea Huesler in the semifinals of the 2022 Sofia Open on Saturday.
Musetti scored a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8), 6-2 comeback win against Alexandar Lazarov in the second round, setting up a quarterfinal clash against Jan-Lennard Struff. The Italian fell behind 3-0 in the opening set, but claimed the next three games in a row to level the score.
Both players remained quite steady on serve from this point onwards, leading the set into a tie-break. Musetti had a minor stumble early on to trail 2-0, but quickly recovered to clinch the opening set tie-break. The second set was completely one-sided. The 20-year raced to a quick 5-0 lead and soon closed out the match to win 7-6 (3), 6-1.
Musetti has now reached his second semifinal of the season. His previous last four showing was during his title-winning run at the Hamburg European Open a couple of months ago.
Marc-Andrea Huesler defeated Geoffrey Blancaneaux in the first round. He followed it up with an upset win over second seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the next round to set up a quarterfinal date with Kamil Majchrzak.
Huesler was off to a good start as he bagged an early break to go 2-0 up. However, he squandered his lead as Majchrzak leveled the score down the line. Both had a few break point chances after this, but fumbled at every opportunity. In the ensuing tie-break, the Austrian was too solid and went on to claim the first set.
The duo defended their serve quite well in the second set and as a result, went into a tie-break once again. Majchrzak held a couple of match points as he led 6-4, but Huesler displayed nerves of steel to win the next four points and grab the set, forcing a decider in the process.
The final set wasn't as dramatic as the previous one, with Huesler breaking his opponent's serve twice to complete a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-3 comeback win. The Swiss has now reached his second semifinal of the year, following his previous one at the Winston-Salem Open in August.
Lorenzo Musetti vs Marc-Andrea Huesler head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Lorenzo Musetti vs Marc-Andrea Huesler odds
Odds will be added once they're available.
Lorenzo Musetti vs Marc-Andrea Huesler prediction
Huesler displayed tremendous mental fortitude by saving a couple of match points in the quarterfinal against Majchrzak. He rained down 26 aces in the previous round, so Musetti will have his task cut out for him during return games in the semis.
The Italian is a decent server himself, but isn't capable of dropping serve bombs as frequently as his next opponent. Musetti did really well with respect to his ground game against Struff in the previous round, striking 28 winners to just 6 unforced errors. His backhand was on song and if he keeps this up, he'll have an easy path to victory.
Huesler also hit thrice as many winners compared to unforced errors. Both players will be feeling confident about their chances given how they competed in the quarterfinals. The Swiss might feel a tad bit nervous as he's aiming to reach his first career final on the ATP tour. This might tilt the scales in Musetti's favor, having won his maiden title earlier this year, and he might handle the occasion better.
Pick: Lorenzo Musetti to win in three sets.
