LYON/STARNBERG, May 22, 2021
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Cameron Norrie will compete in Sunday’s singles final of the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon. Tsitsipas rallied from a set down to overcome #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Saturday afternoon in France’s third-largest city.
The No. 2 seed from Greece struck six aces and won 90 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in one hour and 42 minutes.
Too good in the end 💪
2nd seed @steftsitsipas digs deep to fend off a spirited Musetti 4-6 6-3 6-0 to reach the final in Lyon! pic.twitter.com/bGo59cGKCr
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 22, 2021
“I had to stay calm,” Tsitsipas said on court. “It was difficult to be a set down and have to kind of refresh myself and come anew in the second set. He was still putting [in] a lot of work and making me work for every single point. It wasn’t easy.”
Tsitsipas improves to 2-0 in his head-to-head series against Musetti and now leads the ATP Tour with 32 wins.
Norrie shines in double duty
Norrie ended the day with two wins to earn his spot in the title match. The 25-year-old Briton started by finishing out the final set of a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech and then edging out No. 8 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-1, 6-1.
“Everything was working well: serving well, returning well, anticipating the ball well,” Norrie said. “I came forward when I needed to and was aggressive with good depth. It was nice to come through like that.”
Norrie will appear in his third ATP Tour final and second of 2021 after losing the Estoril Open title in a third-set tie-break to Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
“I had a tough loss in my last final so it’s nice I can get another opportunity so soon,” Norrie said. “It’s going to be tough against Stefanos. He’s in the zone as well, so it’s going to be an interesting final.”
The World No. 49 is seeking his maiden trophy and will face Tsitsipas for the second time. Norrie won the only previous meeting with the World No. 5 at the Hopman Cup 2019. Tsitsipas could clinch his seventh ATP Tour career title, his second of the season following his triumph at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters last month.
