Lorenzo Musetti continues to pick up wins on clay in 2025, as he moves forward in the Italian Open draw.
The home favorite began his Italian Open campaign with two convincing straight-set wins over Otto Virtanen and Brandon Nakashima.
Musetti then beat Daniil Medvedev to advance to the quarterfinals, securing his maiden career victory over the Russian.
Standing between Musetti and a third consecutive Masters 1000 semi-final on clay was defending champion Alexander Zverev.
The German was no match for Musetti, losing in straight sets, 6-7, 4-6, as the world number nine booked his place in the last four.
Ahead of his semi-final match with Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, Musetti has highlighted the one ‘advantage’ he’ll have during the contest.
Lorenzo Musetti says the crowd in Rome will give him an ‘advantage’ against Carlos Alcaraz
During his post-match press conference following his win over Zverev, Musetti looked ahead to his semi-final clash with Alcaraz.
“The match will definitely be difficult, it will put me to the test, but I have to say that I’m getting motivated every time I step onto the court,” he said.
“Especially with this magnificent crowd. It’s definitely an advantage, you know, arriving at the court and hearing this roar.
“It really feels like being inside an arena, so I’ll try to bring even more cheers.”
Musetti took in the applause from the crowd in Rome after beating Zverev in the quarterfinals, as Stadio Centrale celebrated its hero.
The Italian has already played Alcaraz during the 2025 clay swing, coming up short in the Monte-Carlo Masters final, when Musetti struggled with injury during the latter stages of the match.
“Obviously I was very disappointed about the final in Monte-Carlo, and that it ended in that way, anyway,” said Musetti.
“I definitely would have at least liked to be able to play it competitively to the end. Then obviously nobody knows the result.
Musetti won the first set 6-3 against Alcaraz, before the Spaniard came back to win 12 of the next 13 games to clinch the title.
Alcaraz’s win saw him extend his head-to-head lead over Musetti to 4-1, with the Italian last getting the better of him in Hamburg three years ago.
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters – F | Carlos Alcaraz | Lorenzo Musetti | 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 |
| 2024 Miami Open – 4R | Carlos Alcaraz | Lorenzo Musetti | 6-3, 6-3 |
| 2023 China Open – 2R | Carlos Alcaraz | Lorenzo Musetti | 6-2, 6-2 |
| 2023 French Open – 4R | Carlos Alcaraz | Lorenzo Musetti | 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 |
| 2022 Hamburg Open – F | Lorenzo Musetti | Carlos Alcaraz | 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 |
The 22-year-old will be confident of securing win number five in Rome, having impressed during his opening four matches.
Dusan Lajovic, Laslo Djere, and Karen Khachanov were all beaten before Alcaraz knocked out Jack Draper to set up a Monte-Carlo rematch with Musetti in the semis.
- 2025 Italian Open QF – Carlos Alcaraz beat Jack Draper, 6-4, 6-4
- 2025 Italian Open 4R – Carlos Alcaraz beat Karen Khachanov, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
- 2025 Italian Open 3R – Carlos Alcaraz beat Laslo Djere, 7-6, 6-2
- 2025 Italian Open 2R – Carlos Alcaraz beat Dusan Lajovic, 6-3, 6-3
He’ll have more than just the crowd to contend with, however, as Musetti’s clay court talents would cause anyone on the ATP Tour problems regardless of the location.
Lorenzo Musetti becomes first Italian to reach the semi-finals of all three clay Masters 1000 events in a year
Before Musetti traveled to the principality in April, he hadn’t qualified for a Masters 1000 semi-final in his previous 31 attempts.
He has now done so at three straight tournaments, becoming the first Italian player to reach the last four (or last eight) of all three clay Masters events since the format was introduced in 1990.
- 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters – Lorenzo Musetti lost in F
- 2025 Madrid Open – Lorenzo Musetti lost in SF
- 2025 Italian Open – Lorenzo Musetti plays Carlos Alcaraz in SF
Suspended from tennis for three months, Musetti’s countryman Jannik Sinner missed out on the chance to join him in 2025.
The world number one has yet to reach more than one clay Masters semi-final in a single year, as he’ll have his work cut out to match Musetti’s record in the future.
| Event | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Monte-Carlo | – | – | 2R | QF | SF | SF | – |
| Madrid | – | – | 2R | 3R | – | QF | – |
| Rome | 2R | 3R | 2R | QF | 4R | – | QF* |
He could yet join Musetti in the Rome semi-finals, however, should he beat Norway’s Casper Ruud in his quarterfinal match on Thursday, May 15.
Musetti, on the other hand, will return to the court to take on Alcaraz for a place in the Italian Open final on Friday, May 16.
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