Photo Source: TTV
Faced with the daunting task of battling three-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas from a set down, Lorenzo Musetti locked in and put his most stunning tennis on display.
It was enough to get the Italian over the hump and into his first Masters semifinal, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, on Friday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.
Musetti earns his first win over Tsitsipas in six tries, and ends the Greek’s hope for a fourth Monte-Carlo title.
“Of course today was really a tough match,” 16th-ranked Musetti said on court after his triumph, which was his fourth Top-10 win at Masters level. “Before today I never beat him and we played five times. Especially on clay, and especially here where he is a three-time champion, it was definitely not an easy job today; but I found a way and I increased my level during the whole match, so I’m really happy and proud of this win.”
Musetti had a rough time in the opening set. He later said he was worried about a foot issue, and added that it set his mind adrift at a time when he really needed to be focused on tactics against Tsitsipas.
“The first point of the match I felt something in my feet when I went for the drop shot,” the 23-year-old Italian later recalled. “I don’t know if it was something so I decided to call the doctor to have a check. I was a little bit confused by this so I didn’t play on the game plan that we talked about before the match, with Simone and with my team.”
Musetti dialed in his game in the second and third sets, and repeatedly raised his level when Tsitsipas knocked on the door. Musetti saved seven of eight break points in the second and third sets, including all four in the fourth game of the third set, which allowed him to avoid falling behind 3-1.
The Italian eventually broke through on a Tsitsipas double-fault in the pivotal seventh game of the deciding set to take a 4-3 lead. It was a lead that he would never relinquish.
“Definitely afterwards I showed my tennis and I showed the tennis that represents clay the most,” Musetti said, adding of his post-match celebration with his team: “That’s really beautiful – to cry together and win together, it’s really nice.”
Tsitsipas, who converted three of 17 break points on the day, drops to 23-2 lifetime at Monte-Carlo. Champion in the Principality in 2021, 2022 and 2024, he will fall out of the Top 15 in Monday’s ATP rankings – he is projected to fall eight spots to No.16.
Musetti, who will face Alex de Minaur in the semifinals, is currently up to a career-high No.13 in the ATP live rankings.
The bottom half semifinal will feature Carlos Alcaraz and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.