The champions of the week: Ruud celebrates in Gstaad and Musetti beats Alcaraz in the final in Hamburg

Another week has ended on the ATP Tour. After the London lawn and before reaching the North American cement, the world of tennis takes refuge in the European brick dust, for a mini tour which already has new champions in its room. It is Casper Ruud (5th) and Lorenzo Musetti (62nd) who won the respective titles of Gstaad and Hamburg this Sunday.

The first to declare champion was the Norwegian. Ruud reached the Swiss tournament final as a favorite after the Roland Garros final and did not disappoint. He played a spectacular tournament and even participated in the final match without having lost a set in the contest . But in front of him, he had a completely different player.

And it is that despite having beaten the complicated Ramos Viñolas (40th) in the semi-finals, to measure up to Mateo Berrettini (15th) is a challenge of another level. The Italian, helped by the height of Gstaad, ruthlessly overcame his rivals (6-1 and 6-4 in Thiem included ) thanks to a right and a service that have taken their toll.

Despite all this, the Nordic’s strength was superior and managed to defeat the Wimbledon 2021 runner-up by partial 6-4, 6-7(4) and 6-2 thus managing to defend the title he had won on the spot last year.

Ruud during this 2022 managed to successfully defend its trophies from Buenos Aires, Geneva and now Gstaad . This is the ninth trophy of his career which, despite the victory, will lose a place in the world rankings on Monday.

Hamburg on the other hand is surprised not to have the winner that everyone expected. The German public (and most of the tennis world) assumed that Carlos Alcaraz (6th) would win his fifth title of the year on German clay, but no. The one who celebrated was Lorenzo Musetti, after a finale full of controversy and drama.

The two youngsters (Musetti 20 years old and Alcaraz 19) They met on the main court in Hamburg for a final that is likely to be seen many times from now. Two explosive players, surface specialists and with many shots worthy of a weekly repetition.

And in development, the encounter did not disappoint. They played one on one and the first set went down for the Italian 6-4. what yes, the most dramatic moment came at 0-15 from 4-5 in the second set . This is where the Spaniard hit a short shot that clearly gave two rebounds, but Musetti responded and won the point. The judge did not charge anything and triggered the annoyance of Alcaraz who couldn’t believe the mistake that left him three points from losing the tournament.

Despite this, and finishing with five match points conceded, the Madrid Masters 1000 winner managed to pull himself together and level the game to extend a third set. There, in any case, it was Musetti who celebrated by winning the partial 6-4.

Thanks to his first ATP title, Lorenzo will climb to 31st place in the world , being one of the most important promotions of the week in the ranking. Alcaraz, for its part, will manage to move up one position, thus reaching fifth place in the world ranking. The youngest player to do so, since Rafael Nadal in 2005.