At the 2021 French Open, Lorenzo Musetti was on the cusp of one of the biggest upsets of the tournament’s recent history. In their feisty fourth-round encounter, he had Novak Djokovic on the ropes, fashioning a two-set lead before getting tentative with the finish line in sight, eventually retiring with injury as Djokovic recovered. The then 19-year-old Italian, for long hyped as one to watch, went away from that match never to get past that stage at a Major again; later that week, Djokovic left Paris with the trophy.
At some point in the three years since, Musetti got the Italian phrase ‘Il meglio deve ancora venire’ tattooed around his ribcage. It roughly translates to ‘the best is yet to come.’ On Friday, in his first Major semifinal, he will have the chance to roll out his best against Djokovic.
Peek into the semifinal lineup and the 25th-seeded Musetti seems like a typical journeyman who has coasted his way into a lucky meeting with a great on the heels of a favourable draw. His physicality and temperament may be taking more time to catch up with his talent; some of his contemporaries, namely Carlos Alcaraz (who will face Daniil Medvedev in the other semifinal on Friday) and Jannik Sinner, may have become household names as he has stayed relatively obscure. Yet Musetti has all the tools to do more than just make up the numbers. And Djokovic has seen it in the past.
His head-to-head with the men’s tennis GOAT stands at 5-1, but there’s plenty to unpack in those six encounters. He got his first high-profile win over Djokovic on the clay of Monte Carlo last year, and just last month, he took the Serb to the wire in their Roland Garros third round, the five sets of which lasted over four hours to become the latest finish in the tournament’s history.
Craft, guile
Musetti is an aesthete’s delight. Part of what had created the hype around him as a precocious teenager was that he was not cut from the same cloth as most of the top players of today’s game. He relies more on touch, feel, and craftiness as opposed to the surface-agnostic, big ball-striking baseline bashers currently occupying the latter stages of Grand Slams. That’s a strength that is accentuated on grass.
Those around him may have fine-tuned massive serves or big forehands, but Musetti’s greatest tool is his backhand slice. He has plenty of variety in his groundstrokes, likes to play it short and throw in drop shots, and disrupt opponents with rhythm shifts. It proves to be an antidote to the power hitters.
Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – July 10, 2024 Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in action during his quarter final match against Taylor Fritz of the U.S. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Both his last two opponents, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Taylor Fritz, were big servers and hard strikers of the ball. Musetti neutralised both by his ability to change the pace of the baseline exchanges thanks to his variety.
In their last few encounters, he has made Djokovic sweat. The Serb prefers to control patterns of play and dismantle the opponent’s game once he has got a read on them. Musetti, with his constant momentum shifts, does not always make that easy.
Backhand that tests the knee
Part of why this has been a tricky matchup for Djokovic in the past is that he does not always come out on top in the backhand exchanges. Musetti’s single-hander, an oddity in modern tennis, is very versatile but it is the slice that is most challenging on grass.
His backhand slice often skimps over with the slightest net clearance and can stay very low. It’s a most useful rally tool, it takes the sting out of the power coming from the other side of the net and resets the pattern of play. For Djokovic, it will make him hit outside of his comfort zone too, in repeated exchanges the Serb will have to bend very low and test the right knee on which he had surgery just last month.
Gritty as his quarterfinal triumph was on Wednesday, Musetti’s detractors will say his craftsmanship is deceptive, that the eye test pales in comparison to the real test, and that he is all style and little substance.
That is why Friday’s match is a new challenge for the 22-year-old from the small Italian town of Carrara. Excellent players can play scintillating tennis and still be dismantled by Djokovic, especially on a stage as big as Wimbledon’s Centre Court. The Serb may not be at his best, but if his tussles with a seemingly imaginary hostile crowd earlier this week are anything to go by, he has begun rediscovering his winning edge.
The crowd will get behind Musetti, Djokovic will be distracted and ultimately use that to fuel his fire. If the Italian can be composed and not overawed by the occasion, he has the ability to make a match of this. He need only look to his ribcage for motivation.
