'I grew up watching the rivalry between Roger Federer and Nadal', says young ace

Lorenzo Musetti has never hidden the great admiration he feels for Roger Federer. The young blue player had already shown off as a junior by winning the Australian Open in 2019, but this year he made a decisive and important leap in quality by reaching the round of 16 at the Masters 1000 in Rome and the semi-finals in Sardinia. During a recent interview, Italian phenom Lorenzo Musetti opened up about his admiration for Roger Federer. The Italian teenager also revealed that his dream was to play the Swiss Maestro in a Wimbledon final.

Musetti on Roger Federer

“Roger Federer has always been my favorite player, he's my reference, and continues to be,” Lorenzo Musetti said. The teenager went on to explain how his growing years were influenced by the rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. “Roger (is the human I admire the most),” Musetti revealed. “I grew up watching the rivalry between him and Nadal. And when they ask me what my dream final would be, I always answer against Roger at Wimbledon,” Musetti concluded. The 39-year-old tennis legend has had two arthroscopic surgeries on his right knee since losing in the Australian Open semifinals to Novak Djokovic and is still working back into form. “I'm on the right track," Federer told Schweizer Illustrierte magazine. “I'm gradually coming back but I'm going to take my time and don't want to put any pressure on myself. I will only take part in a tournament when I am 100 percent fit. At the moment, it looks like I can make my comeback at the Australian Open in January.” The 20-time Grand Slam champion then beat rival Rafael Nadal in a charity match in South Africa in February. In June, he announced he would be out of action for the rest of the 2020 season due to a knee injury. In his absence, Nadal tied him with 20 Grand Slam titles by winning his 13th French Open earlier this month, earning plaudits from Federer and Rod Laver among others. “We love Roger, but if he adds to the 20, that would be absolutely amazing,” John McEnroe said. Bartoli, though, believes Wimbledon will give him a unique advantage there – as long as he has sufficient tennis beforehand. “Will Roger Federer win another Grand Slam title? Yes, of course,” Bartoli said. “I think it is better he has a four to five month warm-up before he arrives at Wimbledon. I think if he arrives at SW 19 without any matches for 9 months and if Wimbledon is his first Slam of the year, he might be too rusty."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2TyS2jJ