(Video) Carlos Alcaraz Joins the Applause for Lorenzo Musetti After His Retirement from the Roland Garros Semifinal

Struggling with a leg injury, Lorenzo Musetti unfortunately had to retire at the midway of the fourth set against Carlos Alcaraz.

(Video) Carlos Alcaraz Joins the Applause for Lorenzo Musetti After His Retirement from the Roland Garros Semifinal

Carlos Alcaraz joined the applause for Lorenzo Musetti (images via Rland Garros)

Beyond his talent and fierce dominance on clay, Carlos Alcaraz is also a great example of humility and sportsmanship in today’s tennis. At the Roland Garros semifinals, his opponent Lorenzo Musetti who appeared to be injured in the left thigh midway through the third set, unfortunately had to retire at the start of the fourth set. 

Alcaraz applauded Musetti off the court after the match ended. This follows another class act by Alcaraz, during his fourth round match against Ben Shelton at Roland Garros. In that match, the Spaniard refused a point that the umpire initially awarded him, because it was actually an illegal shot. The crowd at Court Philippe-Chatrier also applauded Alcaraz for his honesty. At the end of his semifinal match, Alcaraz wished Musetti a speedy recovery. 

It’s never great to go through like this… He’s a great player, he has had an incredible clay court season … I wish him a speedy recovery and I’m sure we’ll be enjoying his tennis pretty soon.

Alcaraz acknowledged Musetti’s incredible clay court season. The Italian has at least reached the semifinals of all the big four clay court events this season, i.e. Monte Carlo Masters, Madrid Open, Italian Open and Roland Garros. 

Additionally, he also reached the finals of the Monte Carlo Masters where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz. Akin to the Roland Garros semifinal, Alcaraz came back from a set down to win the match as Musetti struggled with a leg injury. However, Musetti refused to retire during the Monte Carlos Masters finals. Alcaraz had then also shared a few kind words for Musetti, expressing a bit of regret over how he got the victory.

Lorenzo Musetti gave Carlos Alcaraz a tough battle in the first two sets

Lorenzo Musetti twice denied Carlos Alcaraz the chance to break in the opening nine games before the Italian suddenly dialed up the intensity and snatched the opening set as Alcaraz produced 16 unforced errors. The Spaniard came back strong in the second set, finding his best level in the tiebreak.

Carlos Alcaraz (via X/The Tennis Letter)
Carlos Alcaraz (via X/The Tennis Letter)

Musetti won just five points in a 22-minute third set and was unable to move freely. Trailing 0-5 in the third set, Musetti called for the physiotherapist to receive treatment on his upper left leg. Alcaraz produced a dazzling display of power and precision to dish out a bagel in the third set. After two hours and 25 minutes, Musetti retired, with Alcaraz advancing to the finals with a scoreline of 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-0, 2-0.

Carlos Alcaraz is looking to defend his Roland Garros title

Four time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz will be looking to defend his Roland Garros title, a feat that only Rafael Nadal and Gustavo Kuerten have accomplished this century. In 2024, Alcaraz defeated Alexander Zverev in a tough five-set battle to clinch the Roland Garros title. With this triumph he became the youngest man to accomplish the surface slam. 

Carlos Alcaraz Roland Garros
Carlos Alcaraz (image via Roland Garros)

The 22-year-old has had a brilliant clay court season. He started the clay season by winning his maiden Monte Carlo Masters title. Alcaraz then reached the finals of the Barcelona Open however, struggling with injury, he lost to Holger Rune.

He withdrew from the Madrid Open due to the injury but came back stronger in the Italian Open, where he defeated World No. 1 and home favorite Jannik Sinner. He seems a strong favorite to clinch the Roland Garros title as well, where he will either face Sinner or Novak Djokovic in the finals.

Also Read: Novak Djokovic Cherishes ‘Big Occasion’ Against Jannik Sinner in the Roland Garros Semifinals