Lorenzo Musetti has had a historic start to his career, and the #NextGenATP Italian is showing no signs of slowing down.
Of the 27 active players who have finished inside the year-end Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Musetti has had a better record after 30 matches (19-11) than all of them except Milos Raonic (20-10). Rafael Nadal was 17-13, Novak Djokovic was 15-15 and Roger Federer was 12-18.
On Thursday, the 19-year-old improved his tour-level record to 20-11 after defeating Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets to reach the third round on his Grand Slam main draw debut at Roland Garros.
“This year I found a little bit of rhythm, of results. I’m playing [well] almost every week and I’m going forward and making a lot of points,” Musetti said. “I’m enjoying this moment and I hope that it never ends.”
Musetti himself pointed out how much he is improving as time goes on. Last week at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, the teen only won five games against Nishioka. On Thursday, he wasn’t pushed to a tie-break against the Japanese lefty.
“Today was absolutely not easy. I think the loss of last week helped me a lot to understand the way that I had to play with Nishioka, and he is really tough,” Musetti said. “The first set was really difficult to win. I had some issues… it was not easy to come back, but I was strong enough, especially on the mental part also today. I think I’ve grown up a little bit and I’m proud of what I’m doing.”
More than anything, Musetti has shown no fear of the big stage. This time last year, the Italian was just inside the Top 300 and he had never competed in a Grand Slam main draw, nor had he won a tour-level match. But Musetti seems to rise to the occasion without apprehension. Will he show any nerves if he continues in the tournament and plays inside a big stadium?
“I’m used to playing in big stadiums. I think my best performances were in the big stadiums in Acapulco, on the Rome Centre Court. When I won my junior Australian Open I was playing on Rod Laver [Arena]. So I think for me it doesn’t really matter the size of the court,” Musetti said. “I think it’s fine like this. Wherever they put me, I play, and I do my best to win.”
Musetti is at a career-high World No. 76, and by reaching the third round on his major main draw debut, he will continue his rapid ascent. The #NextGenATP star will play countryman Marco Cecchinato for a spot in the fourth round.
“I didn’t expect that I was going so fast like this and break the Top 100 was my goal for sure,” Musetti admitted. “Now I have different goals, to try to finish the year Top 50 and I think I can do it. I hope it’s going to be soon. I hope to go as far as I can here and then thinking about Wimbledon and other tournaments after the French Open.”
Of the 27 active players who have finished inside the year-end Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Musetti has had a better record after 30 matches (19-11) than all of them except Milos Raonic (20-10). Rafael Nadal was 17-13, Novak Djokovic was 15-15 and Roger Federer was 12-18.
On Thursday, the 19-year-old improved his tour-level record to 20-11 after defeating Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets to reach the third round on his Grand Slam main draw debut at Roland Garros.
“This year I found a little bit of rhythm, of results. I’m playing [well] almost every week and I’m going forward and making a lot of points,” Musetti said. “I’m enjoying this moment and I hope that it never ends.”
Musetti himself pointed out how much he is improving as time goes on. Last week at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, the teen only won five games against Nishioka. On Thursday, he wasn’t pushed to a tie-break against the Japanese lefty.
“Today was absolutely not easy. I think the loss of last week helped me a lot to understand the way that I had to play with Nishioka, and he is really tough,” Musetti said. “The first set was really difficult to win. I had some issues… it was not easy to come back, but I was strong enough, especially on the mental part also today. I think I’ve grown up a little bit and I’m proud of what I’m doing.”
More than anything, Musetti has shown no fear of the big stage. This time last year, the Italian was just inside the Top 300 and he had never competed in a Grand Slam main draw, nor had he won a tour-level match. But Musetti seems to rise to the occasion without apprehension. Will he show any nerves if he continues in the tournament and plays inside a big stadium?
“I’m used to playing in big stadiums. I think my best performances were in the big stadiums in Acapulco, on the Rome Centre Court. When I won my junior Australian Open I was playing on Rod Laver [Arena]. So I think for me it doesn’t really matter the size of the court,” Musetti said. “I think it’s fine like this. Wherever they put me, I play, and I do my best to win.”
Musetti is at a career-high World No. 76, and by reaching the third round on his major main draw debut, he will continue his rapid ascent. The #NextGenATP star will play countryman Marco Cecchinato for a spot in the fourth round.
“I didn’t expect that I was going so fast like this and break the Top 100 was my goal for sure,” Musetti admitted. “Now I have different goals, to try to finish the year Top 50 and I think I can do it. I hope it’s going to be soon. I hope to go as far as I can here and then thinking about Wimbledon and other tournaments after the French Open.”