Lorenzo Musetti told what he needs to do to beat ‘inspirational’ Carlos Alcaraz

Former world No 1 Andy Roddick believes Lorenzo Musetti will need to “up his risk profile” if wants to stand a chance of beating Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round at the Miami Open.

The pair produced brilliant displays to reach the last 16 of the ATP Masters 1000 event with Musetti getting the better of Ben Shelton with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) scoreline while Alcaraz won 6-2, 6-4 against Gael Monfils.

As per usual, Alcaraz entertained spectators with his shot-making abilities but Musetti also came up with a couple of sublime passing shots that silenced the largely pro-Shelton crowd in Florida.

There is no doubt that Alcaraz is the hot favourite going into Tuesday’s clash as he won their two most recent encounters in 2023 while the Italian was victorious in their first-ever meeting in 2022.

Asked what Musetti needs to do to get the upset against the world No 2, Roddick told Tennis Channel: “Maybe prayer? I don’t know. No disrespect to Musetti, but when Alcaraz is in full flight where does he [Musetti] make gains consistently?

“Alcaraz is going to be in on return games, he served 81% first serves today, he can play through you, he can play around you, he can bring you in so I just don’t know where Musetti goes.

“You got to up your risk profile. Is he going to just wing one-handers up the line for three hours? I am not sure.

“It is no disrespect to Musetti, but I am just so impressed with what Carlos is bringing when he is in full flight. He can beat you a number of different ways, I like Alcaraz.”

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Musetti himself described Alcaraz as “an inspiration” as he highlighted some of the Spaniard’s key attributes.

“It’s always a nice challenge, especially for me,” the 23rd seed said. “I have a huge friendship with him and we’ve played so many battles on court. He’s up in the score so hopefully I can win this time. But I’m really looking forward to playing against him.

“He’s a great person, a great human being and a great athlete. For me it’s an inspiration so hopefully I can give my best and try to win that match.”

Alcaraz returned the compliment when asked about the Italian.

“Against Lorenzo, I know that he is a very talented player, very tough,” he said. “Head to head I think it’s 2-1 for me, if I’m not mistaken. I really want to play against him, and we’ll see how it’s going to be.”