ATP Tour
Musetti’s Renaissance: Inside the artist’s resurgence
Exclusive insight from coach Simone Tartarini
September 03, 2025
Corinne Dubreuil
Lorenzo Musetti is enjoying the best US Open run of his career.
By Andrew Eichenholz
When Benjamin Bonzi defeated Lorenzo Musetti in a final-set tie-break at the Cincinnati Open last month, it was a scene of conflicting emotions. After Musetti missed a forehand return to let slip the match, he slowly walked to the net and removed his headband in disappointment having lost five of six matches following a hot first half of the season.
On the other side of the net, an ecstatic Bonzi turned to coach Nicolas Mahut using his hands to pretend he was driving a car. Ironically, it was Musetti who was hoping to regain the wheel after opening losses at Wimbledon and Washington, a third-round exit in Toronto and another opening defeat in Cincinnati.
“I think probably the worst moment so far was in Cincinnati when I lost to Bonzi. Let’s say it was three matches with Norrie, with Michelsen and Bonzi. Those seemed like the same match played three times,” Musetti said. “I lost three times with many, many, many chances that I think never showed the courage to try to take the lead, to be brave on the court.”
Musetti is widely considered one of the most talented players on the ATP Tour. The 23-year-old owns majestic strokes with which he paints the court like a canvas. There is not a shot he is incapable of hitting.
But in critical moments, he was closer to being the canvas than the artist, allowing his opponents to take control. His best result of the North American summer was making the Cincinnati doubles final with countryman Lorenzo Sonego.
“That was the most, let’s say, scary part that I dealt with,” Musetti said of his feeling that he was not playing courageously. “And of course I think also playing some matches in doubles with Lorenzo [Sonego] gave me the extra confidence that I needed to think that I was not playing that bad and that I think that I needed to change a little bit my behavior on the court and my mentality on the court, to be back again.”
Lorenzo Musetti ” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/09/01/20/50/musetti-us-open-2025-r4.jpg?w=100%25″>
Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
It felt like Musetti was a shadow of the player who had made the Monte-Carlo final earlier in the year as well as semi-finals in Madrid, Rome and at Roland Garros. Suddenly, the Italian went from a good position to make his Nitto ATP Finals debut to being on the outside looking in at the start of the US Open. His coach, Simone Tartarini, explained how important that chase is for him.
“It’s the dream, the dream,” Tartarini said. “Two Italian players in the Masters. Never, never, never, [it would be the] first time.”
The coach is correct. If Musetti qualifies for the season finale in Turin, he will join Jannik Sinner, marking the first time two Italians have qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in the same season (In 2021, Sinner competed in Turin as an alternate following Matteo Berrettini‘s withdrawal).
That is what has made his effort in New York, where he is into the quarter-finals, so important. After losing his first set of the tournament to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Musetti has not lost a set, ousting the Frenchman, David Goffin, Flavio Cobolli and Jaume Munar.
“Lorenzo dreams to play Torino. Quarter-final is very important for ranking points, for the Race To Torino,” Tartarini said. “The road is long, but a quarter-final is very important for Lorenzo.”
How has the 23-year-old turned things around so quickly? According to his coach, it is relatively simple.
“Lorenzo was not playing bad, but he had no focus during the matches,” Tartarini said. “And in New York, Lorenzo has felt more confident with the ball, with his face, the attitude has improved every day.”
Tartarini called Musetti’s 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 victory against Munar in the fourth round “the best match in the past two months”.
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Now, Musetti is eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin — having passed Jack Draper — with a chance to climb further and put himself in firmer position for the season finale. Standing in his way is defending champion and No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Sinner.
“Against Jannik, every point is tough, every point,” Tartarini said. “Every point Jannik always is so [steady]. Lorenzo is up or down. So it’s very important to play [steadily] against Jannik. Lorenzo needs to stay always focused every point, and that’s not easy.
“That is because Jannik is the best player in the world. It’s not easy, it’s very tough.”
But that Musetti is in this position to begin with is a good sign, and shows that he is back at the wheel following a tough stretch. Win or lose, the Italian is back to his best.
“[This is his] first time in New York [reaching] a quarter-final after a semi-final in Wimbledon last year and this year in Roland Garros. For me, [this is] the bigger result,” Tartarini said. “In Italy, everybody talks about Lorenzo not playing good on the hard court, playing good just on clay courts. For me, Lorenzo plays good on every surface: on grass, on clay, on hard. Lorenzo likes to play on clay, but every player likes one court. Carlos, clay, Jannik, hard. It’s normal.”
Musetti hopes to continue proving his versatility in New York.