And to think that it was his first match in an ATP main draw, it was his first Grand Slam match, it was his first match in five sets, it was his first hard outdoor tournament this season and that it was the first time that he faced a top 20. For a baptism, Titouan Droguet will not have done things by halves. By offering himself Lorenzo Musetti, seeded n°18, he will have done more than animate the first day of this US Open. It is an understatement to say that the Italian, who fell Novak Djokovic this spring in Monte-Carlo, was surprised by the excellent production of his French opponent, Titouan Droguet, 171st world player in his state.
In the first set, the French showed the aggressiveness he had already shown during the qualifications where he had successively dismissed Garin, Sandgren and Koppejans. When he slid along the line this backhand passing end which gave him a second set entry break point, a few minutes after the three extended volleys which had just brought him the first set (6-3), Droguet, 22, was able to begin to think that a hell of a shot was perhaps being tied up.
He who had only once in his life beaten a player better ranked than 175th ATP before launching his qualifications for the US Open 2023 was simply in the process of severely shaking up a world top 20. But Lorenzo Musetti (18th) warded off the danger, set the sights with his one-handed backhand and set foot in the court to reverse this trend which defied logic (3-6, 6-0).
Four straight games to take the fourth set
Droguet, with his expressive tennis and his burst strikes (legs and arms go a little in all directions with each swing, but all with promising explosiveness and liveliness), still led 3-1 in the third set, then saw Musetti slipping a marvel of winning backhand to save an extremely important break point at 4-4.
With his cap backwards and his good coverage of the field, Droguet was disadvantaged by the boards of the net on two points in a row, when it was 2-1 for him in the tie-break, which he was going to eventually losing 7-5. In the fourth set, Musetti broke first, at 2-2, before losing four games in a row and the set with…
Without appearing resigned, he did not offer the best signs of fighting spirit in the last set. Droguet took the opportunity to drive the point home and break away 5-1. Musetti was not going to be able to do anything. He saved a match point well, but saw the second (an ace) slipping away from under his nose.
In the second round, Droguet will be opposed on Wednesday to another qualifier, the Czech Jakub Mensik (206th), who fell earlier in the day for Grégoire Barrère.