Lorenzo Musetti is preparing to take on Carlos Alcaraz this afternoon as he looks to reach a maiden Grand Slam final.
The Italian has proved over the last 12 months that he’s not just a flash in the pan, having reached the Wimbledon semi-final in 2024 before losing out to Novak Djokovic.
Musetti is climbing the ATP rankings at a frantic pace and now sits at number seven on the list.
Being Italian, he will have to contend with Jannik Sinner being the dominant player from his country on the tour, but quite clearly, he’s used his compatriot as a motivation to take his own game to another level.
Photo by Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty ImagesAndre Agassi has major concern about Lorenzo Musetti taking on Carlos Alcaraz
Although Musetti will be excited – and slightly nervous – for today’s Roland Garros clash, he will believe that he can overcome the Spanish sensation.
However, Agassi – the winner of the French Open in 1999 – believes that although Musetti has improved considerably, there is still something concerning about him facing Alcaraz.
He told TNT Sports: “I think this game is a beautiful game. The artistry in it, the creativity in it, the ability to make magic happen seemingly out of nothing, the ability to offset paces, the ability to sort of generate. I mean, he brings back the one-hander like a train, right?
“Like, every time he hits it, I just feel like…
“Plays a little passive for me. He can’t generate it; he likes matches to come to him, though. That’s the only thing that scares me about the matchup (against Alcaraz). You know, he tends to want to settle into a point, he wants to defend, his movement is epic, his competitiveness is epic. But his movement on clay is so good.
“He’s never really out of position, even if you bleed him. But the deal is, he tends to get a little bit passive early in the point. He kind of lets the point unfold, and if you let him get away with that, that’s a problem.
“I thought Tiafoe, respect to the American men… God, it’s so nice to see the tournament that they’ve had. But, like, Francis has a game that can hurt Musetti, right?
“But on Clay, he only kind of gets one shot at that. Musetti has a movement that can offset that one intensity and then turn it into a point that drags on and just let the movement and experience of making that ball dance away from Tiafoe, so he’s taking a heavier risk, sort of comes into the factor. Well, that’s not going to be the case with Alcaraz.
“I mean, if he lets Alcaraz settle into dictating play, and if we have a day like like this where it’s a little heavy, which, by the way, I think helps Alcaraz, because Alcaraz can’t seem to govern himself, so if the weather is heavy enough to govern him, and he has the freedom to hit him out in his ball, I mean, he can absolutely do some damage with blows.
“I mean, his left jab is like a straight right. It’s pretty incredible to watch.’
Lorenzo Musetti vs Carlos Alcaraz head-to-head
Today’s match looks like a fiercely competitive one, with two of the game’s future stars going toe-to-toe for a place in Sunday’s final.
If Musetti is to prevail against the world number two, he will have to do something he hasn’t managed since the Hamburg Open final of 2022 and beat Alcaraz.
YearEventWinner2025Masters 1000 – RomeCarlos Alcaraz2025Masters 1000 – Monte CarloCarlos Alcaraz2024Masters 1000 – MiamiCarlos Alcaraz2023Beijing OpenCarlos Alcaraz2023French OpenCarlos Alcaraz2022Hamburg OpenLorenzo Musetti
The two players have met on five occasions since, with Alcaraz winning all of those matches, meaning that the odds are stacked against Musetti today.
Still, funnier things have happened in Grand Slam matches and if Musetti can address the concerns that Agassi has about his game, he could take this game deep and trouble Alcaraz.