Paris – Lorenzo Musetti is a assured participant.
Every thing he has carried out within the final 52 weeks has helped him be simply that.
You possibly can see it within the Italians’ physique language, and in his outcomes. We noticed it firsthand on Tuesday on Courtroom Simonne-Mathieu because the 22-year-old dismantled Colombia’s Daniel Galan in straight units to achieve the third spherical in Paris.
Was he relaxed? Throughout a rain delay, he sat in his chair, like a gentleman, holding an umbrella for a ball child.
Per niente scontato, bellissimo gesto Lollo#Tennis #RolandGarros #Musetti pic.twitter.com/tss6ShV41K
— Eurosport IT (@Eurosport_IT) May 28, 2025
Apparently so.
It may’ve been a protracted day. Tough situations, an opponent who loves the clay and who was hitting his forehand extraordinarily nicely. However the Italian made certain it wasn’t.
Since breaking out ultimately Wimbledon and reaching the semifinals, Musetti has turn into a distinct participant. He then received the bronze medal on the Paris Olympics on the purple clay, his finest floor.
All of the steps Musetti has taken have led him right here. He’s at all times been a gifted participant, and one with a really various ability set. He can use all of the instruments and all of the techniques, and maybe it was only a query of time for Musetti. The time that it takes to actually perceive what instruments and techniques to make use of in opposition to what gamers.
With an especially versatile, one-hand backhand that he can drive with topspin or slice diabolically, the Italian can preserve his opponents guessing.
And lately as he positive factors expertise on tour, he can learn their reactions to what he delivers, and base his evolving techniques on that info.
We are able to clearly see that Musetti is past his youth on tour. He entered the highest 10 simply earlier than Roland-Garros and he has received 23 of his final 27 matches on clay. In different phrases, he’s coming into his personal.
He reached the ultimate in Monte-Carlo, and backed it up with semifinals in Madrid and Rome, the place he grew to become the third Italian man to achieve the semifinals at Rome this century, and the ninth participant in historical past to achieve not less than the semifinals in any respect three clay-court Masters 1000 occasions in the identical season.
“I consider course I am extra skilled on the Grand Slams, particularly making semis in Wimbledon. I perceive what I would like throughout a Grand Slam – even earlier than a Grand Slam – not simply when it comes to bodily coaching, however when it comes to normal day by day routine, day by day life.
“I feel that brings me extra confidence and extra belief in what I am doing proper now.”
Catch a glimpse of Musetti on the clay, and it’s straightforward to see why he’s profitable. He actually by no means performs the identical shot twice. He’s obtained a lot selection, he’s obtained weapons that he can use to assault when time is true, and he’s additionally among the finest movers within the males’s sport on the clay. Simply watch these 10 meter lengthy skid marks that path behind him on the clay as he slides right into a successful volley. Snap.
Musetti has by no means been the kind of participant that may simply deliver out his weapons and use them with out ever excited about issues on a deeper stage. Which explains why it may need taken him longer to develop.
However now he’s right here, and No.7 on this planet, and a real risk to make a deep entrance in Paris. If Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz falter, he may even be a future title winner. It’s all potential now for Musetti in a approach it ever was earlier than, and it’s fairly thrilling to look at.
