Lorenzo Musetti “Motivated” to Play His Best Tennis at the Canadian Open Following his Poor Grass-Court Form

Lorenzo Musetti will open his Canadian Open campaign against Australian star James Duckworth.

Lorenzo Musetti “Motivated” to Play His Best Tennis at the Canadian Open Following his Poor Grass-Court Form

Lorenzo Musetti (via ATP Tour)

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Lorenzo Musetti is aiming to capitalize on the absence of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic at the Canadian Open. The Italian star is seeking to win his first Masters title at the sixth ATP 1000 event of the season. He revealed that he’s motivated to give his best on the court as the tournament kicked off on Sunday (July 27).

Musetti ended with clay-court season with his best run at the French Open, where he reached the semi-finals. The former World No.6 had beaten Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals before retiring against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian star didn’t recover fully from the injury before featuring at the Wimbledon Championship.

The 23-year-old had reached the semi-finals of the 2024 edition of the grass-court Grand Slam, so he was compelled to give it a shot. But that failed woefully as he suffered a first-round loss to Nikoloz Basilashvili. He tried to get back on track quickly at the Washington Open and lost to Cameron Norrie in the opening match.

He’s now fully recovered from his injury and he’s motivated to bring out his best on the court at the Canadian Open in Toronto. The 23-year-old revealed during his press conference that he always plays his best tennis on hard courts:

I came here very motivated. Last year I had to miss the Canada Open because of the Olympics , but two years ago I had great feelings here, great memories, so I hope it will be a great tournament and a great event. How am I? After Paris, I had an injury that sidelined me for a while, so it wasn’t easy to recover. I also barely played the grass season. In Washington, it was a tough match, probably not my best tennis. On this surface, which isn’t my natural habitat, I have to try to adapt and find the right feeling.

However, before the French Open, the World No.10 enjoyed a surprising clay-court display. First, he reached the final of the Monte Carlo Masters before losing the ATP 1000 title in three sets to Alcaraz. He then reached the semi-finals of the Italian Open, losing to eventual champion Alcaraz in straight sets.

Lorenzo Musetti says he can’t wait to play at the Canadian Open

Lorenzo Musetti didn’t get past the second round of the Cincinnati Open last year. The Italian star lost to Frances Tiafoe in straight sets. However, this year he has been a completely different player, having won 25 of his last 35 matches on tour and has been to a Masters 1000 final.

Lorenzo Musetti (2)
Lorenzo Musetti (Image via X/We Are Tennis)

With so many top players absent, Musetti is the third seed at the Canadian Open, which gives him more room to face lower-ranked players and get into his best form before taking on high-ranked stars at the tournament. During the aforementioned press conference, he revealed that he can’t wait to start playing on the court:

Today I had my first practice session here in Toronto and I had good feelings, so I’m happy to be here and I can’t wait to start this tournament.

Musetti will open his Canadian Open campaign in the second round against unseeded Australian James Duckworth after earning a first-round bye. He’s projected to face Holger Rune in the quarter-finals as both players are in the same quarter of the draw. If he does triumph in the last eight, he has a potential clash against Alexander Zverev next.

Also Read: Lorenzo Musetti Discusses the Challenges of Having Too Much Variety in the Game