Second-seeded Matteo Berrettini had been hampered by a foot injury and nearly retired in the semifinals because of it. Despite that, he managed to give Musetti a fairly even opening set.
“It was a really tough first set,” Musetti said. “Very long and no breaks … he was not 100% physically. His capacity to stay until the end, to fight until the end, was a big problem for me to solve.”
“Today I think I played not the best tennis because I think we were both really emotional, really nervous and there was a lot of tension, but in the important moments, I played better. It’s really nice to be here with my family, with the crowd, and it’s a really big win for me and an important moment for my career.”
Musetti had been having a good week in Napoli. He did not drop a set all week and he made only three unforced errors in comparison to Berrettini’s 16.
The 20-year-old won his first career title back in July in Hamburg. The ATP-250 event is his second win. Naples was awarded a one-year license to hold an event and it resulted in an All-Italian final.
“I think it was the perfect week,” said Musetti after his victory.
“I didn’t lose a set so I’m really happy about that, and I’m really happy about the game I showed. Sometimes you have to work hard to bring success and consistency in my game, so I’m really proud of myself and my team.”
Musetti is still in the race to qualify for the ATP finals. He has also already secured his spot to play in the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.