Italian tennis is undergoing an emergence that few countries have in some time. Jasmine Paolini is ranked in the top 5 on the WTA side, and on the men's side, several players are ranked inside the top 100. Of course, Jannik Sinner is the ATP No. 1 and is likely to stay there for some time.
23-year-old Lorenzo Musetti is not far behind, though. In the live rankings, he is No. 5, and by the end of the 2025 French Open, he has a decent chance to land inside the top 4. Even if he doesn't reach that achievement after the clay-court Grand Slam, one can assume he will get there this year.
He showed all of his immense weapons in his quarterfinal match against American Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday. Tiafoe had been playing brilliant tennis in the tournament heading into the match, having not dropped a set.
Lorenzo Musetti defeats Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals of the 2025 French Open
Musetti put a quick end to that, though, breaking the American twice in the first set to lead 6-2. Tiafoe fought back with bombastic and well-placed forehands in the second set and was able to even the match by taking set two 6-4.
The third set was evenly played until the Italian got a break in the final game of the set to win it 7-5. While there was only a set difference at that point, it seemed clear that Musetti was well on his way to victory.
The Italian moves exceedingly well, chasing down balls and putting himself in a good position once he gets there, to steal points that many players don't. Like all very good players, he makes his opponent earn every point by making them hit an extra shot or three just to have a chance to win the game.
Musetti also played very clean tennis and hit 12 more winners than unforced errors. Meanwhile, Tiafoe, trying to hit bigger at times to change the narrative of the match, began to accumulate unforced errors. The Italian owned the match after getting an early fourth-set break from the American.
In the end, Musetti took out Tiafoe 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-2. He will next play the winner of the Tommy Paul and Carlos Alcaraz match on Thursday.