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Thursday provided a quick day at the office at the Forte Village Sardegna Open in Sardinia, with all four second-round encounters completed within an hour and a half. An 18-year-old Lorenzo Musetti became the first player born in 2002 with the ATP quarter-final, beating a qualifier Andrea Pellegrino 6-2, 6-1 in 59 minutes.
The younger Italian dominated on both serve and return, dropping 12 points in eight service games and delivering four breaks from five opportunities. The youngster broke at love in game four following a forehand error from Pellegrino, held at love to confirm the advantage and secured the set with another break at 5-2.
Musetti held with an ace in the first game of the second set and grabbed a break after forcing a mistake from Pellegrino in game two. Lorenzo saved the only break point at 2-0 to remain in front, forging a 4-0 advantage when Andrea netted a backhand in game four.
A teenager sealed the deal with a service winner in game seven, marching into his first ATP quarter-final at the third ATP tournament in a career. The Kitzbuhel finalist Yannick Hanfmann is through to the second quarter-final of the season, ousting the 3rd seed Casper Ruud 6-2, 6-1 in 64 minutes!
World no. 25 has been one of the best players on clay in 2020 but we couldn't see that on the court against the German, struggling to find the rhythm and losing ground when it mattered the most. Hanfmann defended all eight break points to keep his serve intact, stealing 54% of the return points that carried him towards five breaks and a comfortable victory.
Yannick grabbed a break at 15 in the first game, fending off four break points in the second and cementing the lead when Casper sprayed a backhand error. The german produced another break in game five, opening a 4-1 advantage and holding at love at 5-2 to wrap up the opener.
Lorenzo Musetti is the first player born in 2002 who reached the ATP quarter-final.
Ruud got broken in the first game of the second set after a loose forehand, wasting three break chances in game four and experiencing another break to push Hanfmann 6-2, 4-1 up.
The German sealed the deal with a break in game seven, happy with how he performed against the rival from the top-30 on his favorite surface. The 4th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas needed an hour and 19 minutes to secure a 6-0, 6-3 triumph over Corentin Moutet, standing as the only Spaniard left in the draw.
Ramos-Vinolas got broken once and took 56% of the return points that led him towards five breaks, overcoming a deficit at the beginning of the second set and controlling the pace to move over the top. Marco Cecchinato prevailed against Tommy Paul 7-6, 6-4 in an hour and 28 minutes.
The Italian lost only 13 points behind the initial shot, delivering two breaks and beating the American in the decisive moments to remain on the title course.