Musetti topples three-time Monte-Carlo champion Tsitsipas

Lorenzo Musetti earned a milestone victory Friday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The Italian scored his first win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in his sixth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting against the Greek and advanced to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

Musetti fought off the three-time champion 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, backed by a brave serving performance, saving 14 of the 17 break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. In the final set, the 13th seed erased four break points at 1-2. Moments later, Tsitsipas double faulted down break point at 3-3 as Musetti stormed towards a two-hour, 21-minute victory.

“Today was a really tough match. I knew that before today I never beat him and we played five times. Especially on clay, I knew against a three-time champion, definitely not an easy job today,” said the Paris Olympics bronze medalist, who captured his ninth Top-10 win. “I found a way and I was increasing during the whole match. Really, really happy and proud of this win.”

While Tsitsipas looked to run around his backhand and crush his forehand, that wing also created 23 of his 45 unforced errors. Musetti adopted a deep return position and played with great variety, hitting his one-hander down the line precisely and creating delicate drop shots that bit sharply on the sun-baked court.

The 23-year-old will next face eighth seed Alex de Minaur, who breezed past Grigor Dimitrov 6-0, 6-0 in the last eight.

Musetti, 13th in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, could crack the Top 10 for the first time should he win his biggest career title.

Tsitsipas entered the quarter-final clash with a perfect 5-0 record against Musetti, with four of those meetings on clay. The 26-year-old is now 20-2 in the Principality since 2021, having won the title in 2021, 2022 and 2024.