VIENNA (AP) — No. 3-ranked Alexander Zverev paid for not closing out Lorenzo Musetti and lost their Erste Bank Open quarterfinal on Friday.
Zverev won the first set and had momentum in the second, where he led 3-0 in a tiebreaker. But the top seed lost it from there, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 after 2 1/2 hours.
Zverev, the 2021 Vienna champion, also lost to Musetti in the Paris Olympics quarterfinals.
Musetti was rapt to pull off the comeback.
“It’s definitely a match that means a lot to me,” the Italian said. “It’s a pretty big win (in my career), because Sascha really loves to play here, on this court, in these conditions.”
