Lorenzo Musetti Explains the Difference Between Playing Jannik Sinner and the Rest of the Tour After US Open Exit

Jannik Sinner will face Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-final of the US Open.

Lorenzo Musetti Explains the Difference Between Playing Jannik Sinner and the Rest of the Tour After US Open Exit

Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti (via X/The Tennis Letter)

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Lorenzo Musetti’s clash against Jannik Sinner was expected to be intense as it was the first all-Italian men’s US Open quarter-finals tie. But that was far from the case as Sinner swept aside his fellow countryman in straight sets. Musetti then gave his take on the difference between playing against Sinner and other players on tour.

Musetti had not dropped a set since the first set until he met Sinner. The Italian star was seeking to reach his third Grand Slam semi-finals at the New York Grand Slam. Also, before their meeting on Wednesday (September 3), Musetti and Sinner had not played each other since the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters.

But during their clash at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Sinner showed Musetti his best version of all their meetings. The World No.1 won the first five games of the match before Musetti replied with his first, and the set was wrapped up in just 27 minutes. The second set was tight as it took Sinner the ninth game to break his fellow countryman and claim the set.

The third set followed the same style, only for a few minutes, before Sinner broke Musetti early. The World No.1 won 91 percent of his first-serve points, hitting 28 winners and 17 unforced errors. Musetti, on the other hand, struck just 12 winners but sprayed 22 unforced errors. Sinner claimed an emphatic 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win against the 10th seed.

During Musetti’s post-match press conference, he was asked what the difference was between playing against Sinner and other players on tour. The Italian No.2, who has faced Carlos Alcaraz twice this season, admitted that despite growing up together with Sinner, he has never witnessed a player rush him on the court with so much aggression and intensity:

We both grew up, but of course him, he became probably the — I never played, honestly, someone who put me on this kind of rush in the rally, and I didn’t have many chances on the rally, and he was always leading the rally. So that was kind of a bad feeling, of course, when I was playing against him. Of course, pretty impressed by Jannik’s performance today. I think he served really well, and he was pushing me to my limit.

Musetti will leave New York with high expectations for next year’s Grand Slam events. He has reached two major quarter-finals in a season for the first time in his career. Also, following his run at the US Open, he has risen to No.8 in the ATP Live Race to Turin and just needs to keep up with the momentum through to the end of the season.

Jannik Sinner looks forward to a difficult semi-final clash at the US Open

Jannik Sinner became the second-youngest man in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam events in a season, just behind Rafael Nadal (at 22 years old) in 2008. The 24-year-old also extended his head-to-head record against Italian players to 16-0 on tour. He will now face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals.

Jannik Sinner Cincinnati Open 2025
Jannik SInner (image via ATP)

Auger-Aliassime defeated Alex de Minaur in four sets to reach the last four of the US Open. During Sinner’s press conference, he revealed that his clash against Auger-Aliassime will be a difficult one:

It’s going to be completely different, because conditions here are different. He’s had some big wins, so big confidence for him. From my point of view, I always try to look at myself. It’s going to be a very, very difficult match for both of us, because at a grand slam the energy and everything is different.

Sinner has faced Auger-Aliassime three times on tour and holds a 1-2 head-to-head record against the Canadian star. However, in their last meeting at the 2025 Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, Sinner beat him 6-1, 6-1. Should Sinner beat Auger-Aliassime, he’s projected to play Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

Also Read: Amanda Anisimova Explains Huge Turnaround Versus Iga Swiatek at US Open After Wimbledon Final Humiliation