Lorenzo Musetti looks ahead: "Now I am more ambitious"
Lorenzo Musetti feels more mature and more aware after the final lost to Carlos Alcaraz in Monte Carlo. Although the match did not end as he would have liked, the Blue came out to applause. “I still don’t know exactly what kind of injury it is,” he explained at the press conference.
“The fact is that I couldn’t finish the match the way I wanted to, I couldn’t play anymore. It was the hardest thing of all the weeks. After the first set, in which I had managed to play the best tennis of the week, I’m really sorry because the stress and fatigue set in.”
Musetti beat certified top 10s such as Tsitsipas and De Minaur, showing solid, confident tennis at last, a feeling that he can get back to playing with the big boys in the big tournaments. “I take away so many positive things from this tournament. I want to be ambitious and keep motivating myself because the top 10 is not there yet. But it remains the main goal of the season.”
“This week has made me more ambitious, now I know I can do well in the bigger tournaments. I feel at home here, it has been an extra motivation for me. Carlos is a legend of the sport even though he is younger than me, and his “aura” can always be felt. Maybe if I had been 100 percent physically I would have at least been able to stand there and try to beat him.”
His physical and mental decline: “I was surprised in the first set at how I was playing, because I woke up this morning very sore. I knew that in the second set I would have to raise the level again, but I couldn’t because I had no energy left.”
A shame, yes, but also a confirmation that when the engine is running, Lorenzo can bother anyone. And the work with coach Simone Tartarini is paying off again. “Often the dialogue between us can be seen as exaggerated, but for me it is very important. I place great trust in Simone, he helps me handle certain situations.” Now, however, rest is needed. The physical pain is not yet well defined, but the goal is clear: get back in shape for Madrid. “I will skip Barcelona and play in Madrid where I hope to be at 1000,” he announced confident that that goal, to enter the top 10 players in the world: feasible feat.
Carlo Galati
