World No. 83 Lorenzo Musetti couldn’t hide his happiness after stunning Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Monte Carlo Masters second round.
Musetti, 20, handed a straigh-set defeat to sixth-seeded Auger-Aliassime 6-2 7-6 (2) to reach the third round in Monte Carlo.
Musetti is making his second Monte Carlo appearance this year.
Last year, Musetti suffered a first round defeat at the tournament.
“I live here and practise here,” Musetti said in his on-court interview, per the ATP Tour website. “It is nice to be here and play here in front of such a crowd. I am really happy. My backhand down the line was a key to many of my great shots. After a really good first set, he came back with such powerful serving, but I was calm and patient and that was the most beautiful thing about today.”
Musetti beats Auger-Aliassime for the second time
Musetti got off to a great start, breaking Auger-Aliassime in the third game.
Musetti then earned his second break in the seventh game, before serving out for the first set in the following game.
After losing the first set, Auger-Aliassime claimed his first break of the match in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead in the second set.
However, his lead was short-lived as Musetti broke back in the fifth game.
As no more breaks were seen – the set went into a tie-break – in which Musetti took an early 3-0 lead and never looked back to clinch a straight-set win.
The head-to-head between Musetti and Auger-Aliassime now stands on the Italian’s side as he has two wins and one loss against the Canadian.
Musetti plays next against Diego Schwartzman.
“Diego knows how to run and how to defend and attack, so it is going to be a really great battle,” Musetti added. “Diego was my first Top 10 win, so let’s see if I can double up the score. I hope to play a great match.”