Musetti, lucid after his defeat against Fritz: "My legs were heavy, I couldn't be at 100%"

Still marked by his battle in the Athens final against Djokovic, Lorenzo Musetti lacked energy against Taylor Fritz in his debut at the Masters. Heavy legs, lack of rhythm, new conditions: a frustrating first test for the world number 9.

A baptism of fire to forget for Lorenzo Musetti. In the first match of his career at the ATP Finals, the world number 9 was dominated by Taylor Fritz (6-3, 6-4) and never seemed capable of turning the situation around.

A defeat that comes just two days after his epic battle against Novak Djokovic in the final of the Athens tournament.

The Italian admitted in a press conference that his physical condition was far from optimal:

"First of all, I want to say that Taylor played very well. I congratulate him, he delivered an excellent match. Taking into account the conditions and his style of play, he seems to be at the top of his game. [...] I didn't have cramps. When I tried to serve, my legs were quite heavy.

Of course, Taylor returned very well today, he put a lot of pressure on me in the baseline rallies. Physically, I felt quite slow. I knew I couldn't be at 100%. I didn't feel the ball well either. He was hitting hard and that really bothered me."

Despite the fatigue, Musetti will have to return to the court in Turin tomorrow evening to play his second group match against Alex de Minaur:

"For tomorrow evening, I will do everything possible to recover. I will analyze what I did well during the match today. Yesterday, I only played for 30 minutes.

It's never easy to play a match in completely different conditions. In Athens, it was like on grass, the ball slid and bounced very, very low. Here, it bounces higher and seems to fly a bit more. I was able to notice this change."