ATP Tour

Musetti accelerates past Tiafoe to first Roland Garros SF

Lorenzo Musetti’s stunning 2025 European clay season shows little sign of slowing down at Roland Garros.

The 23-year-old Italian on Tuesday booked his maiden semi-final at the clay major with a hard-earned 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 triumph against Frances Tiafoe in Paris. Musetti went toe to toe with Tiafoe for the best part of three absorbing sets on Court Philippe-Chatrier, before putting his foot down to win eight of the final 10 games and seal victory.

“[The third set] was definitely decisive,” said Musetti in his on-court interview. “Frances didn’t start as he wanted I think but today was really complicated to play well. It was so windy and really difficult to manage the balls properly. Especially the third set was really a fight and it was not easy to make a break.

“I was a little bit tired and it was really tough for me to stay there, but I found the extra energy to win the [third] set, and the last set was definitely my best set of the match.”

GLORIOUS MUSETTI 🔥

He sets up his spot in the semi-finals with a 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-2 win over Tiafoe...@rolandgarros | #rolandgarros | #musetti pic.twitter.com/o0prXPqO18

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 3, 2025

Now 19-3 on clay in 2025, Musetti will take on defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or 12th seed Tommy Paul for a spot in the championship match. With his two-hour, 47-minute victory against Tiafoe, Musetti also jumped two spots to No. 5 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, positioning him to reach a new career high after Roland Garros.

“I guess it’s a process of growing, but only inside the court but especially off the court,” said Musetti about his recent strides forward. “Last year I became a father, and I think that gave me an extra responsibility. I think now I approach things in a more professional way, not just on the court, but in my daily routine: When I practise and in my free time.

“I enjoy my time with my family so much. Even if they are not here, they are always with me inside my heart, so I think this win is for them.”

Musetti arrived at Roland Garros in the form of his life and at a career-high No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings, and he was the only player to reach the semi-finals at all three clay ATP Masters 1000 events (Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Rome). Yet the way the Italian has moved through the draw has nonetheless been impressive.

Having pulled through in four sets against Mariano Navone and Holger Rune in the previous two rounds, Musetti again held firm after a setback when Tiafoe clinched the second set to level the pair’s quarter-final clash. In a nail-biting third set, the Italian rallied from 5-5, 15/30 to hold serve and then crucially broke Tiafoe in the next game. That proved to be the defining moment of the match.

With the momentum in his corner, Musetti raced to an early 3-0 lead in the fourth set, deploying some typically classy shotmaking en route, and he completed his victory with his fifth service break of the match. The eighth seed was broken just once himself, early in the second set, and he finished the match having won 81 per cent (61/75) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys Stats.

Having lost his two previous tour-level meetings with Tiafoe, Musetti levelled the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 3-3 with Tuesday afternoon’s win. The Italian is now 13-4 at Roland Garros, where he will contest his second Grand Slam semi-final following his run to the same stage at 2024 Wimbledon.