Musetti Earns 150th Career ATP Tour Victory In Rome

Lorenzo Musetti, Rome
Lorenzo Musetti (photo: FITP)

ROME/WASHINGTON, May 11, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

Lorenzo Musetti‘s love affair with clay is a many-splendored thing. On Sunday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, the World No. 9 from Carrara, Italy with the beautiful one-fisted backhand won his 20th match on the red-brick surface since last July and his 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 28 seed Brandon Nakashima was the 150th ATP Tour win of his career. Musetti is the fifth man born in the 2000s to achieve the 150-win plateau.

Playing in his first tournament since reaching the Top 10 earlier this month, Musetti continued his campaign to reach the semifinals of each of the three ATP Masters 1000 on clay this season after advancing to both the Monte-Carlo and Madrid semifinals.

The 23-year-old Musetti has gone 20-4 on clay since July of 2024, highlighted by winning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, and reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo last month.

Supported by a very vocal home crowd that filled Campo Centrale to near capacity, Musetti dazzled with his play that was part powerful and explosive and part variety and crowd pleasing.

“I think I played one of the most honest performances of the year so far,” Musetti said during his on-court interview with ATP Media, “especially with the serve and the forehand today was really working. It was not an easy match. I wanted the revenge because of the tough loss that I had against Brandon in the US Open. It was a disappointing match for me, so I was really pumped up for the crowd, for my team. Definitely, it was a good win today.”

It all added up to Musetti’s 18th victory in 24 outings this season and by reaching the round of 16, he’s equaled his best performance in Rome that was set last year. The loss denied Nakashima a chance to reach the fourth round at four of the five ATP Masters 1000 played this season so far.

Musetti compiled 18 winners – 11 of them from the forehand side – and saved the only break point he faced from Nakashima. He converted three of four break-point chances and outpointed his opponent 55-46.

Musetti’s next opponent will be World No. 11 and 10th seed Daniil Medvedev. Although Musetti has never beaten Medvedev in their two previous meetings, he will bring a lot of confidence into their fourth-round tussle on Tuesday. “Yes, definitely. I have a good chance,” he said. “Daniil is always a tough opponent to play. It will be our first meeting on clay. It will be a match for the crowd, for the show. Definitely, I will come to this match with a great attitude and I’m happy about it.”

It’s been two years since Medvedev’s last ATP Tour title

The last time Daniil Medvedev lifted an ATP Tour champion’s trophy was at Foro Italico two years ago. Since then, the 2023 Internazionali BNL d’Italia champion has been a finalist five times without winning another title. It’s not for a lack of trying.

However, currently ranked World No. 11, Medvedev realizes he needs a deep run in Rome to avoid entering Roland-Garros later this month ranked outside the Top 10 for the firsts time since 2019 at Wimbledon.

On Sunday afternoon, the 29-year-old Russian continued his pursuit not only of winning another Rome title but also to continue his streak of advancing to the round of 16 in all of the clay ATP Masters 1000 events since the start of the 2023 season. With his 6-4, 6-1 win over No. 24 seed Alexei Popyrin of Australia, completed in 86 minutes on Supertennis Arena, he’s 9-for-9.

Medvedev’s winning fortune denied Popyrin’s bid to record the 100th tour-level win of his career. He put away his 18th win of the season on his second match-point opportunity. It was also Medvedev’s 10th career victory in the Eternal City.

Medvedev hit 17 winners to 17 unforced errors, compared to 18 winners and 29 unforced errors by Popyrin. He saved six of the seven break points he faced from Popyrin and converted four of six break-point chances. Medvedev outpointed his opponent 65-54 to advance against No. 8 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy.

Fils maintains his dominance over Tsitsipas

Arthur Fils continued his dominance over 2022 Rome finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas. In a rematch of their Barcelona quarterfinal last month, the No. 13 seed from France rallied from a set down to beat the 18th-seeded Greek star, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, in one hour and 53 minutes on Grand Stand Arena.

“I told him at the net he was playing unbelievable in the first set,” the World No. 14 Fils said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “He was killing me with his forehand, his backhand, at the net. Serving very good. I could not do a lot of things but in the second set I started to find the rhythm and a way to fight and was happy to finish strong in the third.”

The 20-year-old Fils, who is competing this week in Rome at a career-high ranking of World No. 14, has been a quarterfinalist in three previous ATP Masters 1000 events this season, at Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo.

Fils, who was effective in winning 70 percent of his second-serve points, hit 20 winners, converted three of three break points against Tsitsipas and outpointed him 78-71.

With his fourth win in four meetings against Tsitsipas, Fils became the second Frenchman in ATP Masters 1000 series history to collect 20 ATP Masters 1000 match wins before turning 21, after Richard Gasquet. Meanwhile, although the World No. 19 Tsitsipas had reached the quarterfinals at Rome in five of seven previous appearances, he’s gone 0-for-8 against Top-10 competition since the Paris Olympics last July.

In the next round, Fils, who is 7-2 against Top-20 players on clay since the start of the 2024 season, will play defending champion and this year’s No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, who won the last eight straight games of the match in defeating 154th-ranked qualifier Vilius Gaubas of Lithuania, 6-4, 6-0, in 85 minutes on Campo Centrale. It was the 150th ATP Masters 1000 victory for Zverev and he’s through to his seventh Rome fourth round in the last eight editions.

The World No. 2 Zverev struck 18 winners – 14 of them from his forehand side – and converted six of 12 break points. He outpointed Gaubas 69-42 and extended his win-loss record against players outside the Top 5 at Foro Italico to 23-1.

Around Foro Italico

• No. 83 Corentin Moutet of France scored the biggest win of his career when he defeated World No. 10 and ninth seed Holger Rune of Denmark, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (4), on Pietrangeli in a battle that lasted three hours and 44 minutes – the longest three-set match on Tour this season and the fourth longest Rome match since 1991, according to the ATP Tour website.

Moutet won on his fifth match-point opportunity and it took a 20th-shot unforced error on a backhand return by Rune to end the extraordinary match that included plenty of plot twists to it. By the time it ended, Moutet, who earlier trailed in the tie-break 3-1, collapsed to the ground in celebration and raised his arms while laying flat on his backside.

After beginning the match 0-12 versus Top-10 opponents, Moutet not only recorded his first Top-10 triumph, he’s through to his second ATP Masters 1000 fourth round – and first one since 2022.

The French lefthander struck 35 winners – 21 from his forehand side – and withstood 48 winners from Rune. The Danish star committed 63 unforced errors and Moutet outpointed Rune 127-121.

“It was so hard today,” Moutet said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “He is such a great player. Even at the end when I had the break he was still fighting, trying to find a way. It was incredibly hard today. First time on this court. It is beautiful and everybody is here for us. I don’t know what to say. I fought so hard today and am very happy, so happy.”

• Next, Moutet will face World No. 5 and fifth seed Jack Draper of Great Britain, who defeated 92nd-ranked qualifier Vit Kopriva of Czechia, 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 41 minutes on Supertennis Arena for his 100th career tour-level arena.

Draper struck 21 winners – 12 of them from his forehand side – and saved all four break points he faced. He converted three of 13 break-point chances and outpointed Kopriva 71-57.

• No. 23 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia needed just 61 minutes to eliminated 101st-ranked Italian wild card Francesco Passaro, 6-3, 6-0, winning 12 consecutive games to wrap up the third-round match played on Grand Stand Arena.

Khachanov won 81 percent of his first-serve points, hit nine winners and took advantage of 31 unforced errors by Passaro. He outpointed his opponent 54-27. Next, Khachanov will face World No. 3 and third seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, who defeated No. 64 Laslo Djere of Serbia, 7-6 (2), 6-2, in an hour and 43 minutes, Sunday evening on Campo Centrale.

It was Alcaraz’s Tour-leading 26th victory of the season and he’s 23-2 on clay since May of last year, winning titles at Roland-Garros and Monte-Carlo. Against Djere, Alcaraz hit 15 winners and outpointed his opponent 76-62.

Sunday’s Rome results

Monday’s Rome order of play

By the numbers

Great Britain’s Jack Draper became the ninth man born in 2000 or later to achieve the feat of capturing his 100th tour-level win (100-56). He’s 25-3 against players outside the Top 10 since October, and he is tied with Lorenzo Musetti of Italy for most ATP Masters 1000 match wins this season (14).

“Quotable …”

“I was surprised how things can [feel good] so quickly. I tried to give everything I have. I think that’s the only thing I can do and that’s the only thing I can control right now. The sensation felt quite good, to be honest. Of course, there were some ups and downs, that is normal, but he played some great tennis, especially when he broke me in the second set. I tried to accept that and tried to work again. Now I have some good feedback, and hopefully I can work with that.”

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy, during his post-match on-court interview Saturday evening, describing how satisfied he was with his first match back on Tour following his three-month suspension.

 

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