Mar 9, 2025; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) reacts after winning the first set against Arthur Fils (not pictured) during his third round match in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Well Tennis Garden.

tennis

‘Lightning Strikes Twice’ as Lorenzo Musetti Beats Stefanos Tsitsipas at a Masters-1000 Again!

The Italian faces Alex de Minaur in the Madrid Open QFs.

In a dramatic turn of events, Lorenzo Musetti overcame the odds to beat former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2025 Madrid Open Round of 32 on Tuesday. The Italian, who started the year with a 0-5 record against his Greek counterpart, pipped two tight sets for a 7-5 7-6(3) victory. Having beaten Tsitsipas at Monte Carlo as well, Musetti is slowly but surely evening the odds in this duel.

Dressed in his vintage Roman Toga kit, Lorenzo Musetti entered the Manolo Santana Stadium with a determined look on his face. The 23-year-old Italian is a supremely potent clay court player – he has the bronze medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics to show for it. On the other hand, Tsitsipas is a well renowned threat on the surface himself. He is a former Roland Garros runner-up, three-time Monte Carlo champion, and quarterfinalist from last year’s Olympic Games.

Musetti Outlasts Tsitsipas Yet Again

After losing his first five battles against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Lorenzo Musetti has now won his last two matches vs the Greek freak. On Tuesday, Musetti was down set point at 4-5 in the opening set. However, he showed steely resolve to win the next five games, and eventually the match. In the second set tiebreak, the World No. 11 comfortably edged out a 7-3 win to ensure the match didn’t go into a decider.

By winning this Round of 32 encounter, Musetti made a strong case to enter the Top-10. On the other hand, Tsitsipas continues to face the unfortunate wrath of his past success. He dropped points after failing to retain his Monte Carlo title, and has to defend quarterfinalist points in Rome next week. The No. 17 seed also lost to Musetti earlier this month in Monte Carlo in three sets.

“Don’t Want to Look at the Ranking”: Musetti

Lorenzo Musetti's Roman toga look is absolutely glorious pic.twitter.com/x3PYkXksLL
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) April 26, 2025

Close to two weeks ago, Musetti pulled out of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell due to a right thigh issue. However, he showed no signs of any rust or injury en route to the quarterfinals. Four out of his five losses to Tsitsipas had come on outdoor clay. Yet, the Italian outplayed him on two occasions within the same month this year. After the match, Musetti was asked about potentially becoming a Top-10 player.

“I don’t want to look at the ranking,” he responded. “I just want to play my tournament and try to focus on that. Try to focus on each match. But yes, the confidence and consistency and experience of winning certain matches – it reminds me a little bit of some Top-10 players.”

There is no doubt that if he keeps up this form, Lorenzo Musetti will be a constant name in the ATP Top-10 in the near future. Let us wait and watch how far he goes at the Spanish capital this year.

Alex de Minaur

ATP

ATP Masters 1000

Lorenzo Musetti

Madrid Open

Monte Carlo Masters

Paris Olympics

Roland Garros

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Tennis

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.