Musetti earns stylish Roland Garros victory on 'memorable' court

Lorenzo Musetti marked his return to Court Philippe-Chatrier with a dazzling first-round performance on Sunday at Roland Garros.

The eighth seed, competing at the iconic venue for the first time since winning the bronze medal at last year’s Paris Olympics, delivered a stylish all-court display to move past qualifier Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 6-2, 6-0. With his opening win at the clay-court major, Musetti improved to 23-5 on the surface since July, including a run to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo last month.

“There was pressure being the first man to start this year [on Court Philippe-Chatrier],” said Musetti. “It's an incredible honour, I’ve played many beautiful matches and have incredible memories on this court.

“This month has been incredible, I’ve reached many of my goals, but the best is yet to come. I’ve managed to find a way to make the click that I needed to make a step forward in my level, and I’m here to show it, so hopefully I will.”

At a career-high No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Musetti has enjoyed a significant breakthrough during the European clay swing. In Rome earlier this month, he became the first Italian in history to reach the semi-finals at all three Masters 1000 events on the surface in one season.

Having lost his previous Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Hanfmann in Madrid in 2023, Musetti was eager to mark his recent rise with an impressive first-round performance, and he did so after a testing opener. The 23-year-old countered Hanfmann’s big serving with ease, highlighted by a stunning backhand return winner in the seventh game of the second, one of five straight points Musetti won from 40/0 to break for a 5-2 lead.

Overall, Hanfmann won just 49 per cent (31/63) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys Stats, during the two-hour, seven-minute match. By improving to 9-4 at Roland Garros, Musetti set a second-round meeting with lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan, who overcame local wild card Valentin Royer in a five-set epic.

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Musetti is seeded for a fourth-round meeting with Holger Rune, whom he trails 0-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.