2024 atp250 chengdu open | musetti: i look forward to going to the panda base again
2024-09-19
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sichuan news reporter xue jianwen/photo
on september 18, the 2024 atp250 chengdu open continued its qualifying competition. this also gave lorenzo musetti, the top seed of the tournament and the bronze medalist in the men's singles at the paris olympics, a rare break. having participated in the atp250 chengdu open for two consecutive years, lorenzo musetti is familiar with everything here. "i am very happy to be able to come to chengdu to compete again. the fans here are very enthusiastic and the tennis atmosphere is very good."
the atp250 chengdu open is an international men's professional tennis 250 points tournament, an international a-level event, and the highest-level international professional men's tennis tournament in western china, attracting many tennis masters to sign up. among them, the 22-year-old italian tennis star lorenzo musetti, who just won the bronze medal at the paris olympics, is undoubtedly the most eye-catching. this player, who just helped italian tennis win an olympic medal again after 100 years, is an "old acquaintance" of chengdu tennis fans. as early as 2018, when musetti, who was only 16 years old at the time, came to chengdu for the first time, he won fifth place in that international tennis federation junior masters tournament and did not leave too deep an impression on the fans. after the end of the 2019 tennis junior season, musetti switched to the professional arena. as a young man, he also experienced many failures. musetti said, "when i first switched to the professional arena, i still had a lot of discomfort. there are many differences between adult competitions and youth competitions. i have to be more prepared physically and mentally." continuously honing in the professional arena, musetti's victory has increased, and his world ranking has become higher and higher. finally, in july 2022, he won the first tour championship of his career. in april 2023, he also defeated djokovic at the monte carlo masters, which made more fans like him. in the 2023 atp250 chengdu open, musetti entered the semifinals as the no. 2 seed of the tournament, but unfortunately stopped in the semifinals. it can be said that musetti started and grew from chengdu, and stepped onto the olympic podium step by step. this is his third time in chengdu, and he already has an olympic bronze medal, and his goal is obviously not just the semifinals. "this year has been a pleasant surprise for me, especially on grass. i feel more confident now, including playing on hard and fast courts," said musetti. "i had a good result in chengdu last year, but this year i hope to achieve better results, and most importantly, to lift the championship trophy." not only that, musetti also hopes that he can make it to the year-end finals through the atp china season. "the chinese season is very long, almost a month. but i think chengdu is one of the best tournaments. next, there are shanghai and beijing to prepare for. my main goal is to enter the top ten in the world and strive to reach the year-end finals in turin." musetti said.
in addition to the competition, musetti has a very strong interest in chinese culture. when he came to chengdu for the first time in 2018, musetti not only watched the giant pandas up close, but also tried to make dumplings, a traditional chinese delicacy, for the first time. during the 2023 competition, he also tried to make moon cakes. after learning that he would go to the chengdu panda base on september 19 to have close contact with the giant pandas, he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. "when i first came to chengdu, i didn't have much time to look around, but we did some sightseeing last year. i think it's a big city. it's great to experience different cultures by meeting different people. it was a wonderful experience." musetti said, "when i participated in the itf junior masters in the past, i also had the opportunity to visit the giant pandas. so i am very happy to be back here again, they are so cute."
