Photo credit: Daniel Derajinski-Icon-Getty
Midway through the match, Lorenzo Musetti was sprinting with his back toward the net when he flicked a ball behind him to steal a point that looked like a lost cause.
Even when running the wrong way, Musetti continued his major march forward.
The eighth-seeded Musetti dissected Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 advancing to his maiden Roland Garros semifinal—and second Grand Slam semifinal in the last 11 months.
Carving acute angles off his wondrous one-handed backhand, Musetti lashed 45 winners—12 more than Tiafoe—making his mark for Italian tennis.
The 23-year-old Musetti improved to 19-3 on red clay this season in joining world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and legendary Nicola Pietrangeli as the third Italian man in history to reach both Roland Garros and Wimbledon semifinals.
The 2024 Wimbledon semifinalist will face either reigning Roland Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz or 12th-seeded American Tommy Paul for a spot in Sunday’s final.
When Tiafoe missed a final forehand, Musetti paused and flexed his biceps in a show of strength—and everlasting clay muscle memory.
“It’s such an amazing feeling,” Musetti told TNT’s Mary Joe Fernandez afterward. “Frances was playing really well, especially in the second and third, so I had to be there mentally and physically to try to get a break because he was serving really well.
“Definitely the key to the match was winning the third set because I got a boost of energy and he dropped a little bit.”
There was controversy too.
At one point, a frustrated Musetti turned and kicked a stray ball that struck a linesperson in the chest. There was no malice in the kick, so Musetti was hit with a code violation warning rather than a default.
At the 2020 US Open, Novak Djokovic hit a ball in frustration at the back wall after dropping serve. The shot inadvertently struck a lineswoman in the throat immediately knocking her to the Arthur Ashe Stadium court. Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open and forfeited ranking points and the $250,000 prize money he earned reaching the US Open fourth round and incurred a $10,000 fine as well.
"Honestly it was really unlucky coincidence," Musetti told the media in Paris. "Yeah, I was a little bit, honestly, scared, because I really didn't want to harm nobody, of course. So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said, Sorry, I apologize to everyone.
"It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that, and that's why probably just, you know, let me continue my game."
Putting the temperamental incident behind him, Musetti took charged today with a five-game surge that saw him seize the third set and go up 3-0 in the fourth. Tiafoe, who had not surrendered a set in four tournament wins, could not bounce back.
Musetti masterfully mixed spins, speeds and the height of his shots to deny Tiafoe rhythm.
Monte-Carlo finalist Musetti joins King of Clay Rafael Nadal, Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev as the fifth man to reach semifinals at all three clay Masters 1000 events—Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome—and Roland Garros in the same season.
Whipping a forehand down the line brought Musetti double-set point on the American’s serve in the first set.
Dipping a low pass, Musetti coaxed a stray Tiafoe volley scoring his second break to snatch the 33-minute opener.
The Monte-Carlo finalist served 80 percent and won 15 of 20 first-serve points in the set.
Wearing a black sleeve on his right arm, reminiscent of the young Milos Raonic, Musetti stung successive aces to open the second set with a firm hold.
Exploiting the Italian’s double fault that caused double break point, Tiafoe slammed a bounce smash from the baseline, worked his way forward and threw down a point-ending smash breaking for a 2-1 second-set lead. Dabbing the drop shot to fend off a couple of break points, Tiafoe torched an ace and 131 mph serve winner, confirming the break for 3-1.
The 15th-seeded American won nine of 12 second-serve points in seizing the second set.
Belting a backhand winner crosscourt, Tiafoe stamped a love hold to level the third set, 4-all.
Turning up the heat, Tiafoe earned 15-30 on the Italian’s serve in the 11th game.
Elevating, Musetti spun a diagonal forehand, soared for sharp-angled smash and threw down an ace in a four-point burst holding for 6-5.
That stretch seemed to spook Tiafoe, who looked tight netting a forehand to go down love-30. Tiafoe netted a backhand to face double set point. Playing with the wind, Tiafoe tried the drop shot, but it sat up.
Swooping in, Musetti spun a clean backhand pass down the line breaking to snatch a two-sets to one lead with a right uppercut after two hours, 15 minutes.
Empowered by the lead, Musetti immediately broke for a 2-0 fourth-set lead.
Slashing his eighth ace helped Musetti confirm the break at love for 3-0.
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When Tiafoe’s final forehand failed, Musetti was into the semifinals after two hours, 47 minutes flashing the biceps muscle in victory.
Already a father to son Ludovico, Musetti and his partner, Veronica Confalonieri, announced last month she is pregnant and expecting the couple’s second child.
These days, the Muse Man feels he’s playing for something greater than himself.
“Having a family—that’s a really big responsibility and now I want to be an example for my son and not just for my son, for the people, the fans, the kids that dream to become tennis player,” Musetti said. “Because when I was a kid I was one of them. I want to be an example…
“There’s a lot to do. There’s still room for improvement. I’m really really happy to be in the semis here for the first time.”