Stefanos Tsitsipas pulls off comeback as Lorenzo Musetti fades in five at Roland Garros
As the clock struck midnight so too did the 20-year-old Italian’s hopes of a draw-shattering upset over the 2021 runner-up, who rallied from two sets down.
WATCH: Musetti threatened a similarly stunning upset against Novak Djokovic in Paris last year, leading the eventual champ by two sets in 2021.
For the second straight year, Lorenzo Musetti had a top man on the ropes at Roland Garros, and for the second straight year, the talented Italian couldn’t close him out. Leading 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas by two sets after owning the same lead on 2021 champion Novak Djokovic 12 months earlier, Musetti faded in five and the No. 4 seed escaped, 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
In fairness to Musetti, little about his pre-Paris campaign indicated he was on the precipice of any kind of upset: the 20-year-old retired down a set to Alexander Zverev at the Mutua Madrid Open and was forced to miss his home tournament in Rome.
But with his flashy one-handed backhand, Musetti earns his buzz playing matches like these, inspiring crowds to a mixture of cheers and stunned silence as he cracks the ball off both wings, playing a more youthful, exuberant version of Tsitsipas himself.
There was a time last summer when there was no joy at all to be found in the Tsitsipas game, particularly in the aftermath of his own ability to convert a two-set lead against Djokovic in Paris. Enduring a heartbreaking loss after coming within inches of his first major title, the hangover took the Greek much of the next six months to shake before he clicked back into form on clay.
The 23-year-old defended his Monte Carlo title and posted a strong win over Zverev to finish runner-up to Djokovic in Rome. In a half of the Roland Garros draw without Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Madrid winner Carlos Alcaraz, Tsitsipas was an odds-on favorite to at least match his 2021 heroics.
Enter Musetti to threaten the ultimate shake-up. With most pundits hard-pressed to move off the easy Tsitsipas pick, who would take the No. 4 seed’s place in the championship match? Some geniuses even picked him to win the title. After all, world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev boasts of his love-hate relationship with clay, while No. 7 and 8 seeds Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud lack Tsitsipas’ big-stage mileage.
Tsitsipas ensured, however, that we need not answer those questions today—though he may have convinced some they were worth asking after an out-of-sorts two sets that at one point saw him trail Musetti by a set and two breaks before the Italian edged only just ahead after two sets.
The next three sets all opened with early breaks from the Greek, who withstood a surge from Musetti in the fourth to retain his advantage and force a deciding set. Where Musetti ended his 2021 clash with Djokovic with an injury-induced retirement, the youngster looked ready to play on this time, regardless of the result.
That effort would not go rewarded as Tsitsipas scored the first break and upped the ante by claiming a second break and opening up a 0-30 lead a 5-1. By then, Tsitsipas was in full flow, stretching for a tricky overhead to soon claim match points.
Musetti would save both and hold on in a way that indicated he may one day win one of these matches, but not today: Tsitsipas gamely served out the match and booked his spot in the second round, where qualifier Zdenek Kolar awaits.