ROME/WASHINGTON, May 16, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
Lorenzo Musetti had already ousted former Internazionali BNL d’Italia champions Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev to become just the ninth man to reach all three ATP Masters 1000 semifinals on clay in one season.
Now, one wondered, could the 23-year-old Italian Musetti advance to his seventh ATP Tour final – and second one at this level after the Monte-Carlo final last month? To do so, he would have to defeat the player who beat him to claim the Monte-Carlo title, none other than World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, in the first Rome semifinal on Campo Centrale Friday.
If he did, the World No. 9 Musetti would be the first player since Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros in 2022 to earn two Top-3 wins at a single clay event. However, by the end of their two-hour, three-minute battle that was played under windy conditions at Foro Italico, it wasn’t meant to be for home-country hope Musetti.
The 22-year-old Alcaraz, who has been virtually unbeatable on clay over the past twelve months, won the afternoon semifinal clash with Musetti, 6-3, 7-6 (4), behind 20 winners – 14 of them from the forehand side – while taking advantage of 41 unforced errors by the Carrara native. Sixteen of them were from Musetti’s powerful backhand, which didn’t have its usual zest. He managed to hit just nine winners.
VAMS#IBI25 pic.twitter.com/c781owF2FO
— Internazionali BNL d’Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 16, 2025
Since May of last year, Alcaraz has gone 26-2 on clay, highlighted by his first Roland-Garros title. By winning, Alcaraz became the 13th different Spaniard to reach the Rome men’s singles final in the Open Era and the fourth active player to advance to the finals of all three ATP Masters events on clay, joining Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Stan Wawrinka. With his defeat of Musetti, Alcaraz has tied Stefan Edberg for the second-most wins in the first 100 matches at ATP Masters 1000 level, with 77 victories.
“Today was a really difficult day with the conditions, the wind was tough to play with,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “It wasn’t about playing brilliant, spectacular tennis. It was about playing smart tennis, playing solid, going to the point when you can, and waiting for the chance to play aggressively. I think I did that pretty well, I stayed strong mentally when things didn’t go to my side.”
Carlitos did what Carlitos does
A masterclass to clinch his first final in the Eternal City #IBI25 | @atptour pic.twitter.com/wcn2YxTsfo
— Internazionali BNL d’Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 16, 2025
In their sixth career head-to-head meeting (Alcaraz now leads the series 5-1) – and first since Alcaraz defeated Musetti to win the Monte-Carlo title last month – Alcaraz made an early move with a break of Musetti in the very first game of the match. Then, he consolidated the break for a 2-0 lead but not before saving three break points against him during a 10-point second game. Whether from nerves or pressure from Alcaraz, Musetti faced another pair of break points in his next service game. It turned into a lengthy, seven-minute-plus 12-point chapter filled thrills and suspense, before the Italian finally held his serve. In a loose start, Alcaraz was making Musetti pay.
Soon, Alcaraz made it a double-break lead over Musetti, 4-1, after hitting a swinging volley winner to cap a 14-shot rally. It was the Spaniard who was playing with confidence – going full-speed ahead – while Musetti continued to tackle problems with effectively winning points on his second serve. To his credit, Musetti got one of the breaks back in the sixth game with a solid forehand winner to narrow the margin. However, in consolidating the break, he found himself having to fight off three break points during a 14-point game just to hold serve.
After a love hold by Alcaraz made it 5-3, he put away the 54-minute first set 6-3 – but not before Musetti lost his cool and received a code violation for racquet abuse from chair umpire Renaud Lichtenstein, then hit a fifth-shot forehand long. It was his hit 28th unforced error of the match to go along with his serve being broken for the third time in 11 attempts by Alcaraz.
Djokovic.
Wawrinka.
Tsitsipas.@carlosalcaraz joins good company to become the 4th active player to reach to finals of all 3 ATP Masters 1000 events on clay pic.twitter.com/u8QfCplvkI— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 16, 2025
In the second set, Musetti showed some spark at the outset by breaking Alcaraz in consecutive service games despite being broken, too. Still, with a break lead, it was something to build upon. The mostly-Italian crowd did its best to show support for their home-country hero. Soon, things began to settle down and Musetti maintained a 4-2 break lead. However, Alcaraz broke back in the eighth game and took advantage once again of Musetti’s weak second serve. He hit a solid second-shot forehand winner to draw even at 4-all. Then, the Spaniard consolidated the break at love for a 5-4 advantage.
With his back against the wall, Musetti served to stay in the semifinal and leveled the score at 5-all with a good hold at 15. Alcaraz responded in kind with a hold of his own for a 6-5 lead that was complicated by a couple of double faults. Next, Alcaraz moved to within two points of victory with an overhead smash winner – his 18th winner of the match. He set up match point with a deft sixth-shot backhand winner down the line. However, Musetti saved it by relying upon his forehand. Soon, he held serve after Alcaraz hit a sixth-shot long. It was on to a tiebreaker to decide the set, which had reach an hour in duration.
Alcaraz jumped out to a 5-2 lead as the semifinal reached the two-hour mark before surrendering the next two points to Musetti. Alcaraz set up another match point at 6-4, and won it with an eighth-shot inside out forehand winner.
✍️@carlosalcaraz #IBI25 pic.twitter.com/kJ0iARl5UO
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 16, 2025
Despite hitting 39 unforced errors – 25 of them forehands – Alcaraz proved the overall steadier player and took more risks. He converted five of 14 break points while surrendering three breaks on his own serve. Alcaraz outpointed Musetti 88-77 to earn his ATP Tour-leading 29th victory of the 2025 season. It was his 14th win on clay. Now, Alcaraz is through to his 25th career ATP Tour-level final.
“Honestly, yeah, today was tough day for me. Honestly, I entered on court with such a great mentality,” Musetti said during his post-match news conference. “But then afterwards, after the first point, honestly I start to struggle with keeping that attitude that I show in the past months, in the past week, that help me to come back from various situation and from various difficult moments of the last matches.
“Today was, yeah, of course the wind, shadow. Everything was complicated for me. I couldn’t feel the ball really well honestly.
“But I think both of us, we couldn’t show our tennis. At least for me, was so complicated to play. I was too much focus on the negative things today. That’s why I’m very disappointed about the chance that I miss to try.”
“Everybody saw the match against Casper”
Alcaraz, on a potential final showdown against Sinner @InteBNLdItalia pic.twitter.com/ozGWsJtDBh
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 16, 2025
Alcaraz, who has become the second man born in the 2000s to reach the Rome final after Holger Rune in 2023, will oppose World No. 1 and top Jannik Sinner of Italy, who rallied to defeat No. 11 seed Tommy Paul of the United States, 1-6, 6-0, 6-3, in an hour and 43 minutes Friday night.
Sinner has become just the third Italian man in the Open Era to reach the Rome final. It was Sinner’s 12th straight win of the 2025 season and his 26th consecutive triumph dating back to last year.
ROME. FINAL. JANNIK.
Sinner makes history in front of his home crowd#IBI25 | @atptour pic.twitter.com/riYiESmFm3
— Internazionali BNL d’Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 16, 2025
Around Foro Italico
Two remaining doubles quarterfinals took place on Pietrangeli Friday afternoon. In the first one, No. 2 seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain defeated alternates Giudo Andreozzi of Argentina and Theo Arribage of France, 6-3, 3-6, 10-4, in one hour and 20 minutes. The winners combined to hit seven aces and converted three of eight break points. Heliovaara and Patten outpointed their opponents 62-53.
The second match was won by unseeded Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul, who upset No. 3 seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz of Germany, 4-6, 6-2, 10-3, in an hour and 22 minutes on Pietrangeli. Doumbia and Reboul outpointed their opponents 64-46.
The winners will face each other in Saturday’s semifinals. The other semifinal will pair No. 1 seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia against unseeded Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski of Great Britain.
By the numbers
There have been nine players who have been semifinalists at all three ATP Masters 1000 events on clay in the same season. Rafael Nadal achieved the feat a record six times. Lorenzo Musetti is the latest to achieve the honor.
“Quotable …”
“No, it doesn’t feel so bad honestly. I think it was more fun than anything, even though I lost 0-1.
“You just look at the guy and say, This is kind of, yeah, next-level shit – excuse my language (laughter) – but I don’t know what else to say. It was almost fun to witness at the same time.
“Of course, I wish it was a closer match. I wish I could have given the people and the fans a longer, closer match.
“But I think that I was there ready to play, but he was just even readier. Every area of my good shots he matched with even better back. I couldn’t re-answer with a better shot. That was just the story of the match.”
– World No. 7 Casper Ruud of Norway, during his post-match news conference Thursday, after losing to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, 6-0, 6-1, in the quarterfinal round.
