In an intriguing Round-2 battle at the US Open 2021, Lorenzo Musetti will take on big-hitting American Reilly Opelka. It will take a monumental effort from the Italian to cause an upset in this encounter. He came through a tough opening match, and will hope to beat the larger built opponent to book his spot in the Round of 32. Ahead of his match, the Italian hit the practice courts with World No.1 Novak Djokovic.

Musetti continues great 2021 form at US Open

This season, Lorenzo Musetti has been in fine touch. After a tough start at the Australian Open where he got eliminated in the qualifiers, Musetti reached the final at the Antalya Challenger. He then reached another final in a Challenger event, before making the semifinal in Mexico. At the French Open, the World No.60 reached the fourth round, where he bowed out to Novak Djokovic after taking a two set lead. At Wimbledon, he lost out to Poland’s Hurkacz, who eventually beat Roger Federer in his road to the last-4.

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Coming into New York, the young Italian looked scrappy in Cincinnati and Winston-Salem. However, he displayed a renewed energy in his first round encounter. After dropping the first set to Emilio Nava of USA, Musetti roared back for a 6-7 6-4 6-1 6-3 victory. Next up for him, is the in-form Opelka. And in the build-up to the match, the 19-year-old has trained with one of the best in the world.

Novak Djokovic invites Musetti to train ahead of Round-2 match

Unexpectedly, the weather at Flushing Meadows this year has been severely unfavorable. There have been constant showers, including thunderstorms. This has made it difficult for players to practice for their matches, as the outside courts are uncovered. According to his coach Simone Tartarini, Lorenzo Musetti earned himself a private training session at a facility in New Jersey with World No.1 Novak Djokovic.

In an interview with UBI Tennis, the coach revealed how Djokovic’s team accommodated Musetti and co. at their training facility. “In fact, yesterday we were talking with Edoardo Artaldi [Djokovic’s manager] about the bad weather forecast and then he suggested we go and train with them, since luckily they have an indoor pitch. The idea was immediately shared by both Vajda and Nole [Djokovic]. And now we are in this beautiful place in New Jersey, a villa with an immense park and an indoor field, owned by a private individual who could be defined as wealthy.”

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Lorenzo Musetti will be hoping that the training session pays off for him. He will need every ounce of hope he can find, as it will take a gigantic effort to overcome Opelka. Irrespective of the result, it is going to be an intense battle!