Lorenzo Musetti has had a successful summer so far making the semi-finals of Wimbledon.
Lorenzo Musetti will be suitably exhausted after his first round win against home and fan favourite Gael Monfils.
Despite the routine 6-1, 6-4, victory the Italian number two has had a ludicrously busy week.
Having narrowly lost in the final of the Umag Open on Saturday, he went to bed well after midnight, before catching an early flight that saw him arrive on Court Suzanne Lenglen without barely a moment’s rest.
The match however was not without slight controversy as Musetti marched on to the Olympic stage to a select set of boo’s from the home fans, passionately gunning on the veteran Monfils.
Just several weeks on before Novak Djokovic’s clash with BBC reporters and the Wimbledon crowd, player-crowd relations look to be fraying somewhat, with Musetti the latest victim.
The 11th seed will now look to his doubles match on Monday, before preparing for his difficult second round meeting with Argentina’s Mariano Navone.
Lorenzo Musetti reflects on a frosty reception from Olympic fans
The Italian faced Djokovic in the semi-finals of Wimbledon with the Serb having only just recovered from his outburst at the fans.
While Musetti has not done anything particular to rile up a crowd, he aired his frustrations about the unfriendly reception after his match.
He told Ubitennis: “I didn’t like all those whistles when entering the court, these are things I don’t like because I like healthy values like respect.
I understand the cheering, but the boos when entering the court seemed too much to me.
“Today I won on the court, which is the most important thing.”
Can Lorenzo Musetti win an Olympic medal?
Still just 22, Musetti has already established himself in the ATP’s top 20, currently sitting one off his career-high ranking of 16.
His outing in Tokyo three years ago is the perfect way to track Musetti’s growth, with the then 19-year-old seeing his frustrations get in the way and losing comfortably despite surging to an early lead.
His flowing hair and trademark one-handed backhand has hints of Roger Federer, while his powerful serve and soft touch also poses a major weapon to others.
This year he has secured top 10 wins over Alex de Minaur, as well as beating Taylor Fritz at the last-eight stage of Wimbledon in what was a true showcase of raw talent and resilience.
Navone in the next round is no slouch, having pushed Rafael Nadal all the way at the Swedish Open last week, as well as beating the eventual champion there in his Olympics opener.
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