Lorenzo Musetti’s journey at Roland Garros concluded on Friday when he retired from his semi-final match against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz due to an upper left leg injury. Despite the setback, the 23-year-old Italian remains resolute in his decision to withdraw.
“I’m really sad and disappointed how it ended, but still a great match,” Musetti expressed. “I felt at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I started losing a little bit of strength on the left leg behind, and definitely was going worse and worse, so I decided to stop.”
Musetti acknowledged that it was the right decision despite not being what he wanted. He plans to undergo examinations to assess his condition further.
The match saw Musetti initially challenge Alcaraz across two competitive sets before retiring with Alcaraz leading 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-0, 2-0. This marked Musetti’s third consecutive loss to Alcaraz on clay this year, leaving him trailing 1-6 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
Reflecting on his performance, Musetti noted improvements in his game compared to previous encounters with Alcaraz. “I think we both started really, really well, hitting the ball really well. Of course I had to play probably my best level of the tournament to stay there with him,” he said. “I felt today honestly I stepped forward on my level. I felt closer to his level.”
Despite exiting Roland Garros under unfortunate circumstances, Musetti’s performance throughout the European clay season has been commendable. He became one of only five players in history to reach the semi-finals at all clay ATP Masters 1000 events and Roland Garros within a single season.
Musetti also reflected on the quality of play during his match against Alcaraz: “I knew even before stepping on court that I had to play probably the best match of my career so far,” he stated. “For part of it, I was doing a great job and I was there physically, technically, mentally.”
As Musetti departs Paris ranked No. 6 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings—a career-high—he looks forward with optimism towards the upcoming grass-court season.