World No. 66 Lorenzo Musetti praised Sebastian Baez following their Barcelona clash as he admitted it wasn’t easy to close out the match against the promising Argentine.
Musetti, 20, kicked off his Barcelona campaign with a 7-5 7-5 win over Baez.
Musetti is making his second Barcelona appearance as last year he reached the second round in his tournament debut.
“He played well. I was playing every point at 100 per cent and there were a lot of rallies,” Musetti said. “He is a good fighter and it was not easy to close out the match. But I am in the second round and I am really happy.”
Musetti beats Baez, sets up a Dan Evans match
Musetti plays next Evans, whom he defeated 6-1 1-6 7-6 (8) when they met in Cagliari last year.
“It was a really spicy match. A really tough match, especially at the end,” Musetti said when reflecting on his previous clash with Evans. “Tomorrow I am ready to do battle again and let’s see what I can do.”
“There are respectful experienced players on the pitch. Others like Evans, they try to use my youth to shoot (win) matches,” said Musetti in his post-match press conference after beating Evans.
“But it’s all experience for me. Evans disrespected me. I don’t want to be treated like a young man.”
Musetti saved four match points en route to beating Evans.
“It was really tough. I was 3-6 down in the tiebreak and he was playing good, always going to the net and always aggressive.
“I tried to stay calm and tried to play each point. That is what I did and it worked, so I am really happy and really proud of myself with this win.”
Meanwhile, Evans said Musetti lacked “some manners.”
“Musetti should get some manners on him,” the Brit said in his post-match press conference. “How he spoke last week was embarrassing.
“Let’s not talk about Musetti in my press conference.”