ATP Tour

Emotional Musetti overcomes 'terrible month' to reach US Open quarter-finals

Lorenzo Musetti arrived at the US Open with little momentum, carrying just one victory from four matches on the North American hard courts. Yet the Italian has transformed that rocky stretch into a new career milestone in New York.

On Monday afternoon, Musetti delivered a near-flawless performance to brush aside Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 and secure his first quarter-final appearance at a hard-court major.

“I can’t explain myself sorry. I’m a little bit emotional right now, because honestly the past month has been terrible,” said a poignant Musetti in his on-court interview. “I was a little bit sad about my tennis, my game, my results… I lost three tough matches with many, many chances.

“Tennis is like this, you have a lot of ups and downs. You have to stay there mentally, and that’s what I’ve done in the last couple of weeks and I’m really proud of myself.”

All eyes on the final 8 🎱

Musetti roars past Munar 6-3 6-0 6-1 🔥@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/KJbrMR0qXs

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 1, 2025

Musetti had been one of the standout performers on the ATP Tour through the European clay-court swing, during which he became the first Italian player to reach the semi-finals at all three ATP Masters 1000 events on the surface and Roland Garros in the same season.

But his campaign was derailed in Paris, where he was forced to retire against Carlos Alcaraz with a leg injury. That setback kept him sidelined until Wimbledon, where he returned, but lost in the first round to Nikoloz Basilashvili.

That uncertainty lingered as the hard-court season began, casting doubt over his push to qualify for the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals. His early struggles on American soil — opening-round losses in Washington and Cincinnati — only deepened the concern.

Yet Musetti has found new life in New York: four wins, just one set dropped. He is now up one spot to eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, and inside the cut for the year-end championships.

Against Munar, who led their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 2-1 entering the match, Musetti delivered a statement. He overwhelmed the Spaniard with dazzling shot making and relentless consistency, sealing victory after just one hour, 37 minutes.

“I played a really solid match,” Musetti said. “Especially in the second set, I probably played one of the best sets of my life. I was not missing and it’s really nice when you have that sensation on the court.”

Musetti awaits defending champion and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner or Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals. The Italian owns a 30-12 record on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, highlighted by his run to the final in Monte-Carlo and semi-final at Roland Garros, where he fell to Alcaraz on both occasions.