‘Disappointed’ Lorenzo Musetti reacts to French Open retirement against Carlos Alcaraz
Lorenzo Musetti says that, despite being ‘disappointed’, he believes that his level was ‘closer to’ Carlos Alcaraz’s than in previous meetings – after the Italian retired from his French Open semi-final against the Spaniard.
The Italian claimed the first set 6-4 with a break of serve, before contesting an extremely tight second set full of quality, before the four-time Grand Slam champion claimed it 7-6(3).
In the third, Musetti looked severely diminished by – what turned out to be – a thigh injury, hampering his movement and his serve.
After losing the third set 6-0 and going down 2-0 in the fourth, the world No 7 couldn’t take the pain any longer and retired from the match.
“Honestly, I am very disappointed by how it ended, but it was still a great match,” admitted Musetti, during his post-match French Open press conference.
“Both of us started very, very well, hitting the ball very well. I had to play at my best level of the tournament to stay on par with him. I took a step up in my level, felt closer to his [than in previous encounters].
“I maintained the high level we showed for two hours, so I am very, very happy about that. It’s a step forward because the last two matches were a bit one-sided. I felt today I had my chances even to go two sets up, but of course, Carlos is playing very well. He is in great shape.”
Even if fully fit, the Italian would have had his work cut out for him, with Alcaraz having a 21-1 record on clay courts in 2025 – including titles in both Monte Carlo and Rome.
“It’s one of the toughest challenges currently in our sport,” stated Musetti, about the challenge of facing Alcaraz.
“I have to say he is very, very aggressive, so yes, you always have to be there. Physically, with the one-handed backhand, it’s not easy to face players like Carlos, Jannik, or others. It was very intense for me. In the end, I felt this kind of issues, so it was definitely quite tough.
“That’s what champions do. Even before stepping onto the court, I knew I had to probably play the best match of my career to date. I was doing a great job, I would say, and was there physically, technically, and mentally. I think I was playing well. Sometimes I wanted to be very aggressive, especially on returns, and today I served very well. If I have to analyze those two sets, they were very, very good.”
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As for the next steps of Musetti, he is next due to play at Queen’s event – an ATP 500 – June 16 – 22.
However, his participation will entirely depend on what the scans of his thigh reveal and the discomfort.
“Of course, in the third and in the last two games, there was no way to play at his level with this issue. It was an unfortunate situation,” said the highest-ranked Italian on the ATP Tour.
