Carlos Alcaraz lost his first final ever to Lorenzo Musetti at the Hamburg European Open recently and it was a surprise to many.
Alcaraz established himself as one of the best players in the world and many expected him to lift the Hamburg trophy against Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian is a good player but he is not better than Alcaraz at the moment. He was able to outplay him in the match to lift his maiden ATP trophy and former Italian player and Roland Garros champion Adriano Panatta followed the match closely.
He agrees that Alcaraz is a superb player however he notices a trend in his approach where he seems to underestimate lower-ranked players which happened in Hamburg as well. According to Panatta, that's what cost him the final in Hamburg:
"When he has a top player in front of him, he gives his best and is really very strong, when instead he finds himself fighting against someone who on paper is not classified like him, he almost seems to be offended. It is not something that can be done, certainly not now. Also because, as we have seen, the consequences are paid."
0 Comments