After a thrilling comeback win to stun Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti looks to snap his losing run against Jack Draper in Saturday's Vienna Open semi-final.
Both semi-finalists needed three sets to progress to the last-four match, with Draper overcoming seeming physical issues to edge Tomas Machac in Friday's quarter-final.
Match preview
Musetti proved that his victory over Zverev at the Paris Olympics was far from a fluke when he got the better of the 2021 champion in Vienna despite a slow start.
The Italian struggled set one, losing 6-2, and he was down 3-0 in the second set tie-break before levelling the match and claiming the decider to notch a 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 victory to lead 2-1 in his head-to-head with the world No. 3.
Friday's success was the 22-year-old's eighth against top-10 opponents and second consecutive triumph against Zverev, who lost serve four times in the last-eight encounter despite serving impressively all week before facing the Olympic bronze medallist.
Fresh off his biggest victory on the surface to surge into the semis in Vienna, Musetti hopes that momentum feeds his confidence when he faces an opponent he has never defeated on tour.
Although Draper's three-set victory was 30 minutes shorter than Musetti's comeback win, the British No. 1 player held his nerve to force a decider and stayed on the front foot to overpower Machac in the third in the two-hour six-minute 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 success.
Fourteen of the Briton's 38 winners came in the deciding set, highlighting his raised level and high-quality execution against an opponent who entered Friday's encounter 15-4 in deciders this season.
Machac's 15th victory in such battles was a three-set triumph against Grigor Dimitrov in round two in Vienna, but Draper found solutions to book a spot in his eighth ATP Tour semi-final since turning pro six years back.
Entering Saturday's last-four match-up with a perfect record against Musetti should increase the world No. 18's assuredness about making Sunday's championship match at the Italian's expense.
With several higher-ranked seeds falling before the semis, the 22-year-old's bid for a second title in 2024 and first on hard courts is closer than ever.
Tournament so far
Lorenzo Musetti:
First round: vs. Lorenzo Sonego 6-3 6-2
Second round: vs. Gael Monfils walkover
Quarter-final: vs. Alexander Zverev 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4
Jack Draper:
First round: vs. Kei Nishikori 7-6(5) 7-5
Second round: Luciano Darderi 7-5 6-1
Quarter-final: vs. Tomas Machac 6-3 3-6 6-1
Head To Head
Sofia (2023) - Round of 16: Draper 7-5 6-2
Next Gen ATP Finals (2022) - Round Robin: Draper 4-1 4-0 4-3(3)
Draper heads into the semi-final 2-0 up in his head-to-head against Musetti and aims to extend his advantage in Vienna.
The British player has never dropped a set against Musetti, emphasising his dominance in their encounters.
Since the pair's last meeting in Sofia last November, Musetti has secured six wins in eight against left-handed opponents, even if the second loss in that period came recently against Juncheng Shang in Chengdu last month.
We say: Musetti to win in three sets
Saturday's outcome may depend on Musetti returning competently and dealing with a player who has racked up 37 aces this week.
Despite a 2-0 losing record against Draper, we are backing the fresher Italian — who had a bye in round two after Monfils withdrew due to illness — to edge the No. 1 British player for a place in Sunday's title match.
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