“One of the best wins of my career”: Lorenzo Musetti takes down Tsitsipas and reaches new heights in Monaco

Lorenzo Musetti earned a remarkable victory in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals against Stefanos Tsitsipas, reaching the semi-finals of a Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career. The Italian is now eyeing his first major title and a potential breakthrough into the top 10.

Musetti took advantage of early exits from players such as Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, and Daniil Medvedev to emerge from the top quarter of the main draw. On his path, he defeated the likes of Jiri Lehecka, Matteo Berrettini, and, this Friday, the 3-time Monte Carlo champion Tsitsipas.

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It marked Musetti’s ninth career win over a top-10 player—five of those on clay—highlighted by his stunning victory over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic at this very tournament back in 2023. Overcome with joy, the Italian was nearly in tears after what he described as his best win of the year: “There’s a special taste to this one,” he said later in his press conference.

Musetti had a losing record against Tsitsipas going into the match—five encounters, five wins for the Greek (11–4 in sets). Four of those defeats had come on clay, though it had been two years since their last meeting, and Musetti has since reached a new status on Tour.

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The 23-year-old explained that the win was particularly emotional, not just because Tsitsipas was the defending champion, but because Musetti had never beaten him before. “It was 5-0 in his favour. So probably one of the toughest challenges I’ve had to face in my career so far. It’s a big win—one of the best of my career. As for tomorrow’s match, honestly, I don’t think there’s a favourite.”

On Saturday, Musetti will face world No. 10 Alex De Minaur, who shocked the tennis world with a double bagel win over Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals (6-0, 6-0). Their head-to-head is tied at 1-1, but they have never played each other on clay.