Lorenzo Musetti calls Carlos Alcaraz ‘INSPIRATION’ ahead of their French Open clash despite the Spaniard’s comments on seeking revenge

: Both Alcaraz and Musetti have shown their class at Roland Garros and the match between them is expected to be a blockbuster.

Lorenzo Musetti calls Carlos Alcaraz ‘INSPIRATION’ ahead of their French Open clash despite the Spaniard’s comments on seeking revenge

Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz (Image via: Tiebreaker)

After Carlos Alcaraz vowed to take revenge for last year’s loss against Lorenzo Musetti, the Italian has come up with a perfect reply ahead of their highly anticipated clash at the 2023 French Open.

The two NextGen superstars will face each other in the fourth round at Roland Garros, with the winner booking its place in the quarterfinals. In the 2022 Hamburg Open final, Musetti earned a hard-fought 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 victory over the Spaniard to claim the title.

That is the only head-to-head encounter between the two players in the main draw so far until today when they will face each other on Court Philippe Chartier. This loss is still on Alcaraz’s mind, and he is determined to make it 1-1 against his opponent since his junior days. Musetti, however, has an altogether different approach towards this encounter and has labeled Alcaraz as his ‘friend’ as well as an ‘inspiration’ for players in their age group.

“What I will see first on the other side of the net is a friend. He’s the first to win a Grand Slam after the big three, so I think that’s kind of an inspiration for us, for me, Holger, Jannik, and everyone behind him, trying to push back and get closer to it. I think the Hamburg final gave me a lot of confidence. It’s a completely different situation, a different status, but I think we’ll enjoy our match,” the Italian said at a press conference.

Keep Exploring: French tennis players should be sent to Rafael Nadal for winning the title at Roland Garros, claims former France No.1 following horror showing this year

Both Alcaraz and Musetti plonk in fine touch at Roland Garros

While 17th-seed Musetti is yet to drop a set and has been a carnage at the French Allen so far, Alcaraz is slowly coming to his groove after losing a set en route to his victory in the second round. Having said that, what will give the reigning US Open champion great confidence is how he demolished Denis Shapovalov in straight sets in the Round of 32.

On paper, it may look like Alcaraz has a slight edge over his opponent, but the match promises to be much closer than anticipated. Whoever will hold his nerves better in the crunch moments will surely reach the last-eight stage in Paris. A straight-set victory for either player looks highly unlikely, as the match is at least expected to go to the penultimate set. 

Incase you missed it: