Musetti saves four match points to beat Cobolli and reach Lyon final

Lorenzo Musetti saved four match points to beat top seed and compatriot Flavio Cobolli 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 on Saturday and reach the final of the Lyon ATP 250, in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,000 at the LDLC Arena. Hours earlier, after 1 a.m., the No. 6 seed had finished the longest match of his career.

Musetti had beaten Luca Van Assche of France 7-6 (5), 6-7 (7), 6-4 in the quarterfinals late on Friday night, a win that was also the 200th of his career at tour level. Against Cobolli, he lost the first set and faced match points, but saved them all and converted his first chance to reach the final.

“It’s really tough to play a friend as Flavio, and I know how much of a meaning, of an importance, this match was for him, but of course in the same way for me, because I played not really many tournaments,” Musetti said on court. “So for me, having the chance to reach a final and to kind of get back in shape, it means so much. I fought till the end. I think that was probably the key of the match. We both probably deserved to win, but fortunately there is no draw. Today it went my side, but it could go also on the other side.”

The organizers opened the upper stand for the weekend, and it sold out: a rare crowd for an ATP 250. “I wish I could speak better French,” Musetti said. “I want to say merci to everybody who was supporting me.”

A 10th career final for Musetti

Musetti, ranked No. 26, reached the 10th final of his career, his second of the season after Hong Kong in January, and his second indoors after Athens last year. He becomes only the eighth Italian man in the Open Era to reach 10 finals.

He had opened his week with wins over Matteo Arnaldi 6-1, 6-4 and French wildcard Moise Kouame 6-4, 6-4. Musetti’s run in Lyon comes after a difficult season. He reached a career-high No. 5 in January but then missed part of the season for injury and dropped to No. 26.

Cobolli, ranked No. 6 and fifth in the Race to Turin, had beaten Swiss wildcard Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4 and No. 5 seed Brandon Nakashima of the United States 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. He was playing the first indoor semifinal of his career and looking for his fourth final of the season.

Musetti now leads their head-to-head 2-0, after Cobolli retired trailing 6-3, 6-2, 2-0 at last year’s US Open.

Musetti will face second seed Taylor Fritz of the United States in the final of the Grand Prix Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on Sunday. He leads their head-to-head 4-3 and won their most recent meeting 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.

“He’s feeling confident; I think he won in straight sets all matches, so for sure he’s in a good shape,” Musetti said. “He’s probably one of the biggest serves on the tour, so it won’t be easy to return tomorrow, but hopefully I can get a nice recovery, nice hours of sleep. I didn’t have much last night.”

Grand Prix de Lyon, Quarterfinals

F. Cobolli [1] d. B. Nakashima [5]: 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
L. Musetti [6] d. L. Van Assche: 7-6(5), 6-7(7), 6-4
T. Paul [4] d. C. Moutet: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
T. Fritz [2] d. D. Altmaier: 7-6(5), 6-2

Semifinals

L. Musetti [6] d. F. Cobolli [1]: 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
T. Fritz [2] d. T. Paul [4]: 6-3, 7-5