ATP Tour

Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Musetti suffers shock first-round defeat

Last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti became the third Top 10 star to exit this year’s Championships in the first round. Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili upset the Italian 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 to earn his eighth Top 10 win, but first at a major.

Musetti is the third Top 10 player to lose in the first round, joining Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev. Musetti remains fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin for now, but his latest defeat will dent his Nitto ATP Finals hopes. Rune is currently 10th in the Live Race To Turin, with Medvedev in 16th. Former Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, who retired during his first-round match due to a back injury, is 22nd.

Musetti recorded a Tour-leading 12 wins on grass in 2024, highlighted by his semi-final showing at The Championships. However, the World No. 7 arrived in London this year having not competed on grass this season due to a left leg adductor injury suffered in his Roland Garros semi-final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.

Competing on Court No. 2, the seventh seed looked far from his best and seemed to struggle physically against former Top 20 star Basilashvili, who fired 48 winners en route to his two-hour, 25-minute triumph.

"I was struggling to feel comfortable on the court from the beginning," Musetti said. "Going and going with the match, I was really losing focus and was not reactive on the ball when I was coming out from the serve. Even in the lateral movements, which normally I know how to move, today seems like I never played on this surface. A really bad performance I would say."

It is the third time Musetti has lost in the first round at Wimbledon and the third time he has been eliminated by a player Ranked as low as No. 126 in the PIF ATP Rankings. In 2023 he fell to World No. 186 Lloyd Harris at the Australian Open and World No. 171 Titouan Droguet at the US Open.

Basilashvili has reached the third round at Wimbledon on two occasions and will hope to advance to that stage again when he next takes on Lorenzo Sonego after the Italian beat Jaime Faria 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Earlier on Day 2, last year's quarter-finalists Alex de Minaur and Tommy Paul both earned their first grass-court tour-level wins of the season to reach the second round. The Australian De Minaur defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(2), while American Paul overcame British wild card Johannus Monday 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

De Minaur will next meet Arthur Cazaux or Adam Walton and Paul takes on Sebastian Ofner.