Battle between Top 50 stars: Musetti and Navone meet in the Cagliari final | ATP Tour

Challenger

Battle between stars of the Top 50: Musetti and Navone meet in the Cagliari final

Tabilo and Munar, for their part, will collide in France

May 04, 2024

Lorenzo Musetti and Mariano Navone will collide for the first time.
By ATPTour.com/es Staff

Lorenzo Musetti delighted an enthusiastic home crowd with his best performance of the week on Saturday at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Cagliari, where the Italian dominated by defeating Colombian Daniel Elahi Galán 6-1, 6-4. The 22-year-old will face Argentine Mariano Navone in Sunday’s final.

Musetti, seeded second at the Sardegna Open, lost serve only once all afternoon (at 4-3 in the second set), but won the next two sets. The No. 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings sealed his place in the championship match after one hour and 27 minutes.

“Today I was able to dictate from the beginning, especially with my forehand, I was really in shape,” Musetti said. “In the second set I had many chances to break serve in the first games, but I couldn’t do it. I got the break at 3-3, but then he raised his level. I got the break again at 4-4 and then played a very good match holding.”

“For me it is a very important victory, in terms of tennis and self-confidence, which was lacking in recent weeks. Playing as a favorite is never easy, but I have done well enough to reach my first final of the year, so I am very happy.”

^{Lorenzo Musetti at the Tennis Club of Cagliari. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour}

The Challenger final in Cagliari will be a battle between two Top 50 players. Musetti, who is aiming for his third Challenger crown and his first title at any level since October 2022, faces world No. 41 Navone, who defeated eighth seed Luciano Darderi 6-3, 7-5 in the last four round.

Navone, 23, captured five Challenger titles in 2023 and has made his mark on the ATP Tour this season, with final appearances in Rio de Janeiro and Bucharest. Navone, who was outside the Top 100 in February, is at a career-high 33rd in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Aix-en-Provence Challenger
Third seed Alejandro Tabilo reached his third final of the season at all levels on Saturday at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole, where the Chilean edged out Valentin Vacherot 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 after winning 81 for percent of his first serves and fighting off six of the seven break points faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I’m very happy. “I am playing good tennis, so I hope I can continue like this tomorrow,” said Tabilo, 26, who will face Jaume Munar in the final.

^{Alejandro Tabilo during his SF in Aix-en-Provence. Credit: Nicolas Averty}

Spaniard Munar has lost just one set this week in the south of France, displacing three of the top five finishers along the way. The 26-year-old defeated fourth seed Roman Safiullin 7-6(4), 6-3 in the semi-finals to reach his first final of the year.

“I think I have played good tennis over the last few days and now I have a great chance tomorrow to have a title again. I will recover, spend quality time with my family tonight and prepare for tomorrow’s battle,” Munar said.

Fans can tune into Challenger TV to watch the ATP Challenger Tour 175 Finals live and on-demand at no cost. Tabilo and Munar start at 15:00 (local time). In Cagliari, Musetti and Navone play no earlier than 17:30 (local time).