ATP Queen's: here Lorenzo Musetti's smash that hit Holger Rune
by LORENZO CIOTTI
The match valid for access to the semifinals of the Queen's ATP 500 tournament between Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune suddenly ignited in the second set. On the score of 2-2 (15-0) the two played a spectacular rally which ended with the smash of the Italian tennis player against the Danish rival.
Musetti unintentionally hit Rune with a smash, but immediately apologized for not igniting any controversy. The Dane didn't take it very well and, before taking the towel from his side of the pitch, he cast an accusing look at his opponent.
Musetti was good at not providing Rune with any reason to continue to doubt his intentions and the matter was immediately resolved without consequences.
Musetti hits Rune: the reaction of the Dane
The incident vaguely recalled the episode that took place at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia last May, when Novak Djokovic was hit by Cameron Norrie.
The Serbian, on that occasion, looked for Norrie even during the change of field and showed his disappointment in the press conference. Musetti, unlike the British, did not play a trivial stroke and apologized blatantly to his opponent.
Rune managed to close the match in straight sets despite the chances given to Musetti in the second set. The Italian worried about two set points, but the Dane played perfectly and sent the message back to the sender with an ace and a slap on the fly.
After pushing away the danger, Rune got the break to scoreless and clinched the first semifinal in a grass event of his career. Here is the video of the episode that infuriated Rune:
In the press conference, Rune said: "Musetti? He can do what he wants.Heating up 👀#cinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/yp5cnCoXFy — Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 23, 2023
It's certainly not the best thing to do, but it's legal. He can hit the ball where he wants. He gave me more motivation to beat him. I'm happy to have overtaken Musetti in two sets. I'm in the semifinals; not him. So I'm happy. I am extremely happy to have conquered my first semifinal on grass.
Things are looking better. I think today was a great test to see where I am on this surface, because I was forced to play a lot of long rallies and move well. The matches will get more and more difficult, but I'm happy to be in this position.
I feel better and better."