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the cordovan Pedro Cachín tried his best but couldn’t prevent the removal of the Argentina Openby falling today in the round of 16 against the talented Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 and 6-3.
Cachín, born in Bell Ville, Córdoba, and ranked 68th in the ATP world ranking, was surpassed by Musetti (20), third favorite for the title, after one hour and 22 minutes of play in the match that opened the night session on the central court of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club.
The 27-year-old from Cordoba had left Brazilian Thiago Monteiro (78) on the road in the initial round, showing a lot of progress in his game, but I couldn’t move on in the ATP of Buenos Aires because he was surpassed by the hierarchy of the Italian born in Carrara, in the Tuscany region, 20 years ago, and considered a “top ten” future.
Musetti will continue his journey in the Buenos Aires ATP this Friday against the Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas (101), who previously eliminated the Austrian Dominic Thiem (99) after beating him 6-4, 6-4.
The Italian generated a lot of expectations in the public and he lived up to it, since he walked through “La Catedral” of Argentine tennis his offensive game, with a delicious one-handed backhand, which he hits many times with slice, and the speed with which he fires the ball with his forehand, his points salient.
The first set went in favor of the Italian because he returned better, breaking Cachín’s serve three times and taking a 6-2 lead that heralded victory.
Cachín just found a way to make him uncomfortable in the second set, when he used deep and angled shots to find holes in the Italian’s defense, which allowed the score to remain even.
However, Musetti accelerated in the eighth game and broke the Argentine’s serve to go ahead 5-3, thus confirming what was presumed, that the game depended on him.
Musetti served without fissures to close the match 6-2, 6-3 and left a pleasant impression in the first match he played at the Argentina Open, although he had already been in Buenos Aires in 2018 when he took part in the Olympic Games of the Youth.
“It was not an easy game because Pedro played very well and at home he did not make it easy for me, added to the wind that moved the ball a lot,” said the Italian in his first contact with the press after his victory.
“I’m happy because I played a good game and I hope to do something important in the tournament. Brick dust is my favorite surface and I decided to come to South America because I wanted to score matches and points for the world ranking”, added Musetti.
His next rival will be the Peruvian Varillas, who eliminated Thiem from the tournament, champion in Buenos Aires twice, in the 2016 and 2018 editions.
“Varillas will be difficult because he will play loose, without pressure. If he beat Thiem it’s because he’s playing very well, I think I have to keep up the intensity to play a good game”, concluded Musetti.
