Italian teenager Musetti beats Cuevas in Sardegna Open

Posted October 12, 2020 7:00 am

The Associated Press

Italy's Lorenzo Musetti returns the ball to Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas during the Sardegna Open tennis tournament in Santa Margherita di Pula, near Cagliari, Italy, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. (Alessandro Tocco/LaPresse via AP) The Associated Press

SANTA MARGHERITA DI PULA, Sardinia (AP) - Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti beat eighth-seeded Pablo Cuevas 7-6 (4), 7-5 in the first round of the Forte Village Sardegna Open on Monday.

Having won the boys title at last year's Australian Open, the 18-year-old Musetti made a splash at last month's Italian Open where he beat former top-five players Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori in succession.

Against Cuevas, Musetti maintained his focus through two rain delays and quickly recovered a break of serve late in the second set.

'œI'm playing really good tennis - my best tennis,'ť Musetti said. 'œI have the weapons to (have) a great tournament and to compete at this level.'ť

The 143rd-ranked Musetti next faces qualifier Andrea Pellegrino, who won when Stefano Travaglia retired from their first-round match. Pellegrino was ahead 4-6, 7-6 (7), 3-0.

Also, seventh-seeded Tommy Paul beat Slovakian qualifier Andrej Martin 5-7, 6-3, 7-5; and Jiri Vesely eliminated Kamil Majchrzak 6-1, 7-5.

The tournament was installed in the ATP calendar as a one-time only event amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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Andrej Martin returns the ball to Tommy Paul during the Sardegna Open tennis tournament in Santa Margherita di Pula, near Cagliari, Italy, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. (Alessandro Tocco/LaPresse via AP) The Associated Press

Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely returns the ball to Poland's Kamil Majchrzak during the Sardegna Open tennis tournament in Santa Margherita di Pula, near Cagliari, Italy, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. (Alessandro Tocco/LaPresse via AP) The Associated Press

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