Rosstour
Talk Tennis Guru
I can’t wait, especially if both of them end up in the WTF draw
Lorenzo Musetti - The True Crown Prince of Tennis - A 1HBH-er?
- Thread starter Marius_Hancu
- Start date
I can’t wait, especially if both of them end up in the WTF draw
Hitman
Bionic Poster
All hell could break loose.
Joseph_K
Hall of Fame
After beating Sebastian Korda in three sets earlier on Friday in the semi-finals in Athens, Lorenzo Musetti is just one victory away from qualifying for next week's ATP Finals in Turin. The Italian won 6-0, 5-7, 7-5 after leading by a set and a break, and had to save one match point in the third set before winning. In tomorrow's final he will face Novak Djokovic for the tenth time. The Serb currently leads their head-to-head 8-1.
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Joseph_K
Hall of Fame
For three hours earlier on Saturday Lorenzo Musetti engaged in a battle with Novak Djokovic in the final in Athens. In the end the Serb emerged the winner by the score of 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, thereby apparently denying the Italian the chance to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin. However, soon after the final in Athens, Djokovic announced that he would not be travelling to Turin because of an unhealed shoulder injury which would not allow him to perform at his best next week. So Lorenzo Musetti has qualified for the ATP Finals for the first time after all. He joins Carlos Alcaraz, Alex De Minaur and Taylor Fritz in the Jimmy Connors Group. Congratulazioni!
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prairiegirl
Hall of Fame
Now there's a reason for me to watch!
Rosstour
Talk Tennis Guru
With all the Musetti love lately I thought I would pat myself on the back a bit
This post is over 4 years old and I endured a lot of laughs since then for my faith in this mercurial player
This post is over 4 years old and I endured a lot of laughs since then for my faith in this mercurial player
intrepidish
Hall of Fame
Well, Gasquet WAS a pretty good player and even though he is mocked on here tremendously, I don't think anyone is twice as good as a player like that. Musetti always had plenty of game but the knock on him (from serious fans) has often more to do with his heart as seen in some of his marquee slam losses which really ought to have have been marquee wins or at least late set battles.
I'm still not sold on his spirit entirely though he has made some strides but I do hope to see more progression from him. His top level game in purely tennis terms is very high though I wonder how sustainable it is for him physically. I fear he's not strong enough physically for a full season of what it takes to hang at the top. What happened to him at RG against Carlos for example is in the back of my mind. That was the best anyone short of Carlos or Sinner played at the tournament but Musetti was overclocking his body.
I think Musetti would have benefited greatly from an extended Spanish style tennis boot camp at some point in the past.
Rosstour
Talk Tennis Guru
The post was not a knock on Gasquet, I was just trying to find some evidence for how long I’ve been a fan of this dude bc it seems like everyone is coming around now.
intrepidish
Hall of Fame
Right, we spoke about Musetti a while back and it amazed me how little he was understood around here in terms of his game and potential. Of course still with the caveats I mentioned above for my part though I hope for the best.
I imagined it was a figure of speech about Gasquet though he gets/got way too disrespected around here for my taste.
I think the jury is still out on Musetti. The phrase "flashes of brilliance" seems to have been coined with him in mind. Flashes, yes -- emphasis on the ephemeral. Musetti did not win a tournament in 2025 and has not won a tournament for three years. He showed a lot of fight in the Athens final but still lost to Medicare-ready Djokovic, even with a trip to the tour finals on the line. He again showed a lot of fight this week in defeating De Minaur -- but hey, it was De Minaur. Musetti went out meekly against Fritz and was clearly outclassed by Alcaraz, despite again having ample motivation in the form of a ticket to the YEC semifinals. He has to start closing some deals.
Rosstour
Talk Tennis Guru
An addendum to my earlier reply:
Am rewatching the Musetti-Alcaraz match, and Haber just said that Musetti has 6 wins vs Top 10 players this season.
Only 6? Doesn’t seem like much
But then he added that only two players have more Top 10 wins this year, and they are Alcaraz and Sinner.
So, he might not be winning titles, but he is in this way and many others already our Third Man @Hitman
4UTRMoutet
Hall of Fame
Muse, Draper (if healthy), Shelton, and Felix seem like the guys with the game to occasionally snag a win from Big 2. Musetti can do it on clay, Draper on Hard, Shelton on grass and maybe indoor hc, and Felix on indoors.
Rosstour
Talk Tennis Guru
Draper is a flash in the pan, you will see. Clumsy movement and can’t stay healthy, plus lots of anxiety/breathing/nausea stuff on court.
Felix has to hide his BH
Shelton is the best of the names you mentioned but still has some technical issues to fix.
And I think you may be wrong on how you see their chances by surface
FAA’s best chance is on clay—he can run around his BH and has time to uncork the Fans. Remember his 5set match with Rafa at RG22.
Musetti has beaten Carlos in a clay final, but remember in 2024 that Musetti won more matches on grass than any other player. Queen’s F+Wimbledon SF.
Musetti has surprised even me with how well he has done off-clay, so I have to say that he’s the most complete player of the ones you mentioned and IMO has already produced way more “epic moments” and memorable matches than they have
His last two seasons have been displays of unbelievable grit and talent juxtaposed with his tendency to lose focus and doubt himself. And you can see how his efforts have captured the hearts of his countrymen
Hitman
Bionic Poster
He could be it next year, he is only improving.
Marius_Hancu
Talk Tennis Guru
| 5 | CH | Lorenzo Musetti | 23 | ITA | 4105 |
Finally, getting more consistency, to deserve this rank. Needs Slams.
ghostofMecir
Legend
Do you mean a good run at slams or actually win one? He will never win a slam.
Marius_Hancu
Talk Tennis Guru
He can, with a coach like Wawrinka's. Hire JCF.
ghostofMecir
Legend
No coach will help him be able to win in a best of 5 If he has to play Sinner or Alcaraz, especially Sinne. If they aren’t there, then there’s an outside sooner or later, another player will rise.
Rosstour
Talk Tennis Guru
Hamburg 2022
He has the firepower, anyone saying his shots are weak is just not watching his matches. He was destroying the BH in HK
Localfoc
Semi-Pro
2022!? Brother that's years ago
.I know I watched him last season and he definitely doesn't have the thump. At least not anywhere Sinner or Alcaraz. Which is all that matters.
Didn't he himself openly say at one point last year that he regrets having a one handed backhand? Or that he won't recommend the OHBH to a young player because it's hard to compete against the 2 handers at the top of the game. Something like that.
Sorry, I forget his exact words but it was something along those lines.
That is an open confession from a guy who knows he doesn't have the goods to deliver.
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Rosstour
Talk Tennis Guru
2022!? Brother that's years ago
I know I watched him last season and he definitely doesn't have the thump. At least not anywhere Sinner or Alcaraz. Which is all that matters.
Didn't he himself openly say at one point last year that he regrets having a one handed backhand? Or that he won't recommend the OHBH to a young player because it's hard to compete against the 2 handers at the top of the game. Something like that.
Sorry, I forget his exact words but it was something along those lines.
That is an open confession from a guy who knows he doesn't have the goods to deliver.
2022 was also the last time Sinner beat Alcaraz at a Slam until Wimbledon ‘25, and that did not stop Sinnerfans from granting Sinner every single victory in the interim
welcome2petrkordaland
Hall of Fame
Musetti was up a set on clay against Alcaraz twice last year, not bc Carlos was playing poorly—MC Final & RG semi. It’s known that Moose runs a lot and ends up in long matches and then physically fizzles out, esp in 3/5 format. Not sure if this reason for loss of quality is better or worse than, say, just not having the goods/skillset, but I’d go with stamina issues as being more fixable. I seem to recall another guy who had similar issues and fixed them in spectacular fashion.
Moose’s serve and FH have gotten pretty huge and his BH is really not a weakness given his variety, certainly not like Tsitsipas’ BH…
Let’s see what if Moose can win one. I would bet on it happening.
Moose’s serve and FH have gotten pretty huge and his BH is really not a weakness given his variety, certainly not like Tsitsipas’ BH…
Let’s see what if Moose can win one. I would bet on it happening.
Move
Hall of Fame
Lets hope so. Good for the Tour. Musetti vs. Moutet end of last year match (In Greece?) was a joy to watch.
Rosstour
Talk Tennis Guru
2022!? Brother that's years ago
I know I watched him last season and he definitely doesn't have the thump. At least not anywhere Sinner or Alcaraz.
Oh?
Look at this infographic.
Rovesciarete
Hall of Fame
As I have written before his forehand is widely undervalued around here, although his numbers are achieved by a deeper position relative to Sincaraz.
His backhand is one of the few single-handers with positive potency according to Tennisabstract. Always a bit tricky to gauge as he uses the slice so much.*
*One-handers have partly such high average spin and speed numbers as neutral/defensive balls are taken care off by the slice.
Rovesciarete
Hall of Fame
Surprisingly strong showing against Sonego. Any insight on this match? Only watched the highlights...
The Piedmontese felt forced to be extra aggressive and went overboard imho, while the Tuscan handled it cooly with class. No physical issues, thankfully!
It seemed to me that his strokes were a bit more compact, but i'm not sure...
The Piedmontese felt forced to be extra aggressive and went overboard imho, while the Tuscan handled it cooly with class. No physical issues, thankfully!
It seemed to me that his strokes were a bit more compact, but i'm not sure...
Rosstour
Talk Tennis Guru
His matches are all ESPN Unlimited which I don’t have. But I think you’re right about the tweaks to his strokes. He was hitting the crap out of the ball in Hong Kong
prairiegirl
Hall of Fame
I really enjoy watching him - that one handed backhand down the line is a beauty.
prairiegirl
Hall of Fame
Wow a great mental effort from Musetti! Well done for him and into the round of 16.
Rosstour
Talk Tennis Guru
That was not an easy match and I had some serious doubts until Machac went for the donkey kick and Lore got it back then won that point. So demoralizing for a guy who was totally zoning
prairiegirl
Hall of Fame
He was but Lorenzo fought through. He's becoming much more match tough these days although Fritz might be too much. We'll see.
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