Musetti moves past Maximilian Marterer for a debut win in Marseille

Musetti Lorenzo overcame an unpredictable start to win the first round of his debut match in Marseille in easy fashion on Monday at the Open de Provence.

The Italian, ranked sixth, defeated Maximilian Marterer 6-4, 6-2 to get to 4-0 in the 2024 season’s opening rounds. Based on Infosys ATP Stats, Musetti converted five of his fourteen break points, securing a rematch against either Andy Murray or Tomas Machac in the second round.

“It was not an easy match, not an easy start,” said Musetti. “He was serving really well, and I managed to come back a few times in the first set. Then I found my rhythm a little bit, especially in the second set. I think I returned pretty well today and I liked the surface and the stadium on my first time here.”

Musetti lost the opening set 2-0 against Marterer, but he bounced back from a break down at 4–0 to win his first-ever Lexus ATP Head2Head match against Marterer. After that, he won four straight games from a 2-2 deficit in the second set to cap off an hour and forty-eight-minute victory.

Day 1 of the indoor hard-court ATP 250 saw the home crowd’s celebration dampened by Roberto Bautista Agut and Alexander Shevchenko in the remaining main-draw matches. Whereas Shevchenko defeated Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(4), 6-4, Bautista Agut defeated Richard Gasquet 6-3, 7-5 to move on the third seed Karen Khachanov match.

The 23-year-old Shevchenko, who is No. 56 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after reaching the quarter-finals in Montpellier last week, will next take on defending champion and top seed Hubert Hurkacz.

After making it to the quarterfinals in Montpellier last week, the 23-year-old Shevchenko—ranked No. 56 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings—will next face first seed and reigning winner Hubert Hurkacz.