Matteo recovered from his injury and returned to Washington beating Arnaldi. Tomorrow he faces Vukic: “I spent a lot of time with my family and I think I made a big change mentally”
A soft return also for Matteo Arnaldi’s retirement after just 40 minutes of play, but Lorenzo Musetti76 days after the last match played in Rome against the Norwegian Ruud he’s finally back playing his tennis full of class and spectacular shots. The injury to the rectus femoris in his left leg forced Carrarino to skip Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the two most important events of the season, to heal as best as possible and finally return to the ATP 500 in Washington, the eighth tournament he has participated in this troubled season. Musetti is currently number fifteen in the world ranking and is the number four seed in the Washington tournament. Before Arnaldi’s retirement he dominated the match by winning the first set 6-0, while at the time of Matteo’s retirement the score was 3-1 in favor of Musetti. In short, a reliable test but not that much given the condition of the opponent, but tomorrow we will already understand better the form of Musetti who returns to the field against the Australian Vukic.
Important victory
Lorenzo underlined the importance of returning to winning after a long stop: It’s a very important day for me, because I had been out for a while, so coming back after a stop with a victory is something significant. I think the process came first accept the injury and accept the fact that he had to miss two Slams. Two Slams that mean a lot to me, because I was a semi-finalist at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. It was really hard to accept. Then I had to have a lot of patience, work consistently on recovery, try to get back into shape and build a body that I hope won’t get hurt again, at least for the rest of the season. For me it was also very important spend some time with family, close friends, make some adjustments, and now I’m here. I hope to return to 100% soon.” The days of the injury were special for Musetti: “Honestly, when I was at home, at first I didn’t really know what to do, because you’re always in the mindset of having to pack your bags, go to training or otherwise do something tennis-related. When you stop completely, it’s not easy for a tennis player to completely unplug. But thanks to my partner, my family and my team, I think I have made a big change on a mental level. I also feel more responsible with the children, and I think that this sense of responsibility can bring out the best in me on the pitch too“. Musetti now looks to the US Open: “The main priority right now is to feel good physically and get back into shape. This is the most important thing. Then all the results, or ranking goals. I think the main focus now is put games in the legs and try to arrive as ready as possible in New York”.
