After Knocking Out Alexander Zverev, Fired-Up Lorenzo Musetti Dreaming of Revenge on Carlos Alcaraz in Rome Semifinal
Lorenzo Musetti was successful in defeating Carlos Alcaraz just once in the five tournaments they played.
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Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti (Image via ATP/X)
The Monte Carlo Masters final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz affected Lorenzo Musetti a lot but now he has a chance to take revenge on him. The two players are pitted against each other in the semifinal of the ongoing Italian Open.
Musetti reached the last four in his home Masters 1000 event for the first time after eliminating defending champion Alexander Zverev in the previous round, improving his head-to-head to 3-1. The Italian ace has not yet lifted a title this season.
Alcaraz, who too will be playing his first Italian Open semifinal, has captured two titles this season- both for the first time in his career. He defeated Alex de Minaur in the Rotterdam Open final and Musetti in Monte Carlo.
Although Alcaraz leads 4-1 in the head-to-head record against the 23-year-old, the latter perhaps will have more crowd support given that he is a home favorite. Lorenzo Musetti said at the press conference:
Friday will be a difficult match, which will put me to the test. I get excited every time I step on the field, especially with this magnificent crowd. It feels like being inside an arena. I will try to push the fans even more to do their job, to emphasize this beautiful Italian side.
Alcaraz also has a 2-1 win-loss record over Musetti on clay. The four-time Grand Slam champion, before setting up the clash with the World No.9, took his revenge on Jack Draper, who had denied him a chance to defend his Indian Wells title this year by knocking him out in the semifinals.
Alcaraz, apart from the two titles he won this year, also reached the Barcelona Open final but failed to cross the last hurdle in the form of Holger Rune. Due to an injury he suffered in the final, he withdrew from the Madrid Open which he lifted two times.
Casper Ruud says Carlos Alcaraz has done better than him on clay-court events
While Carlos Alcaraz has made it to the Italian Open semifinal for the first time, Casper Ruud hasn’t yet progressed to that stage, yet. After beating Jaume Munar in the fourth round and extending his head-to-head record to 5-1, Ruud scheduled a “tough” quarterfinal clash with World No.1 Jannik Sinner against whom, he lost all his three matches.
These three matches were held on hard courts and the upcoming match will be on a surface where 13-time singles titlist Ruud became a champion 12 times. Ruud, who entered Rome after a successful campaign in Madrid (beat Jack Draper in the final) could cause an upset if he beats Sinner.
And if the three-time Grand Slam finalist beats Tommy Paul in the semifinals, then he could face Alcaraz in the final. Rune, following his victory over Munar, compared his and Alcaraz’s performance on the red dirt. Casper Ruud said during his on-court interview:
I mean, match wins are one thing, then of course, you do that at the biggest tournament, which is another. I’ve had a little bit of both. I would consider Alcaraz to have had a better four or five years on the surface. He won Paris, won Madrid a couple of times, and won Monte-Carlo. By far way bigger titles than myself.
The 22-year-old triumphed over Alexander Zverev to take home his career’s French Open last year. Ruud, on the other hand, is a two-time French Open finalist, losing the final to Rafael Nadal in 2022 and to Novak Djokovic the following year. Alcaraz, a nine-time winner in clay-court events, holds a 4-1 head-to-head lead over the Norwegian, and the lone defeat came in the round-robin stage of last year’s ATP Finals.
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