Musetti on why Monte-Carlo run is just the start…

Competing in his first ATP Masters 1000 final on Sunday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Lorenzo Musetti pushed Carlos Alcaraz for large periods before injury hampered the Italian during the third set.

Speaking after his defeat, the Italian reflected on a frustrating ending to an overwise positive event.

“I was feeling the ball really well today. I had a clear mind what I had to do. But physically I was struggling,” said Musetti, who is unsure of the exact nature of his injury. “From the beginning I was trying to compensate a little bit with the freedom to play.

“At the end, the physical problems and the fatigue and stress accumulated in the past days and past matches was there. So unfortunately I couldn’t finish the match. I mean, I couldn’t fight till the end.”

Musetti, who suffered a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 defeat to Alcaraz, will rise to a career-high No. 11 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday, having defeated Top 10 stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur en route to the final. The 23-year-old was pleased with his level in The Principality.

“I take a lot of positive stuff. I have reached some of my goals,” Musetti said. “Of course we are already focusing on other goals and trying to be ambitious to motivate myself of course because the top 10 is not there yet. That was probably the main goal of the season right now. But we are close enough to keep fighting, keep dreaming.”

Musetti was impressive on the clay this week and has demonstrated good pedigree on the surface in the past. He won the bronze medal on the surface at the Paris Olympics last season, defeated Novak Djokovic in Monte-Carlo in 2023 and lifted the title at the ATP 500 in Hamburg in 2022.

Now, the Italian is excited to tackle the rest of the European clay swing head on.

“Clay is my favourite surface. It’s my natural habitat. This week gave me the confidence to be more ambitious even in bigger tournaments like this one or Roland Garros. It’s a massive point of the season. [It is] really important, I don’t have so many points to defend. So hopefully I can be prepared to do some great things. I feel like that I have the level to stay at the top on clay.”