Jasmine Paolini’s Ex-Coach Thinks Lorenzo Musetti ‘Plays Better’ than Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Lorenzo Musetti has won just one match against Carlos Alcaraz but has yet to defeat compatriot Jannik Sinner.

Jasmine Paolini’s Ex-Coach Thinks Lorenzo Musetti ‘Plays Better’ than Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Lorenzo Musetti (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Jose Morgado)

Lorenzo Musetti produced decent performances last year, and this also saw him reach his career’s first ATP Finals. The Italian ace reached three finals, but he failed to win a trophy.

Musetti, in fact, last won a title at the 2022 Tennis Napoli Cup, and since then, he has reached six finals, losing all. This year, after losing the Monte Carlo Masters final to Carlos Alcaraz, he was defeated by Alejandro Tabilo in the title clash of the Ningbo Open. Then, Novak Djokovic denied him the win in the final of the first edition of the Hellenic Championship.

Musetti, for sure, has a lot of potential and is tipped to challenge the dominance of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Jasmine Paolini‘s former coach, Renzo Furlan, in fact, thinks the 23-year-old plays better tennis than Alcaraz and Sinner.

On clay, Lorenzo has only lost to Alcaraz and [Jack] Draper. His 2025 season was excellent, and in 2026, he can aspire to be World No. 3 because, paradoxically, he plays better than Sinner and Alcaraz. The quality and potential are there, but winning a Grand Slam depends on many circumstances.

Sinner holds a 3-0 head-to-head lead over his compatriot and last met him in the quarterfinal of the 2025 US Open. Against Alcaraz, the World No.8 trails 1-7 in the head-to-head matchups. The lone win that he clinched was in the final of the 2022 Hamburg Open. Last year, they met four times.

In the Grand Slams, Musetti has yet to reach a final. He has made the last four twice, at the 2024 Wimbledon and last year’s French Open. Last year, apart from the French Open, Musetti also reached the quarterfinals of the US Open.

Greg Rusedski on Jannik Sinner’s calendar Grand Slam chances

This year, Jannik Sinner‘s goal at the Australian Open is to complete a three-peat. If he wins, he will become the second man in the Open Era to win three consecutive Australian Open titles after Novak Djokovic.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

Last year, he made the finals of every Grand Slam tournament, winning at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and losing at the French Open and the US Open. Can he complete the Calendar Grand Slam? Former World No.4 Greg Rusedski doesn’t think he can achieve the rare feat.

Do I think he’s going to win the calendar Slam? I don’t think he will win all four, no. But if he wins in Australia, where he is the big favourite, and then gets the French Open, then we will all be talking about it. We saw Novak try to do that a few years back, and he was one match away against Daniil Medvedev at the US Open and lost it at the final hurdle after winning three majors.

Greg Rusedski said on his Off Court with Greg podcast

Sinner, in the previous two seasons at the Australian Open, defeated Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev in the finals, respectively. Since 2024, the four-time Major champion has reached six Grand Slam finals. Last year, apart from the two Majors, Sinner took home four more titles, including the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.

If anyone can do it, it’s Jannik. He has great memories of Australia at the start of the year, but can he bounce back and win the French Open? That’s the big question. Also, with Carlos Alcaraz, where is he going to be? There’s lots of question marks going into the season, but Sinner keeps improving.

Greg Rusedski added

The Australian Open starts on January 18. But prior to the Australian Open, the 24-year-old will feature in an exhibition in Incheon, South Korea, where he will face Carlos Alcaraz.

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