At the Internazionali in Rome Lorenzo beats Cerundolo in two sets despite the pain in his thigh. Now he will face Casper Ruud
With the sweat and effort of someone who has a muscle injury that torments him, but goes beyond the pain, overcoming every difficulty Lorenzo Musetti he beats Cerundolo and reaches the round of 16 of the Rome Internationals but ends up exhausted and in tears. The suffering could be seen on his face during the match, yet he didn’t stop playing tennis that wasn’t his. But it doesn’t matter, winning was what mattered: “I didn’t know whether to go on the field or not, my physical condition is what it is, but in the end I did it. Thanks to everyone, mine are tears of joy.”
Always uphill
Musetti hasn’t been able to play as he knows how, he’s never managed to do so in 2026: after the injury in Australia in the match against Djokovic he only had problems, he lost in Indian Wells and had to give up on Miami, a defeat immediately came in Monte Carlo, then fourth in Barcelona and eighth in Madrid hoping to be better in Rome. Instead, even today, as in the debut match against Mpetshi-Perricard, he took to the pitch with a bandage on his left thigh. “I suffered from the beginning – explains the Carrarino –, I expected a very difficult match and so it was, against a friend who knows how to play very well on clay. I also had a bit of cramps, it wasn’t easy to find a way out, but I fought and the public helped me find the strength within myself to carry on. I think I handled the situation well, I didn’t finish 100%, but I’m already thinking about rest and the next match.” And again: “I really want to do well here. I’m really gritting my teeth, to find the right physical condition you have to go through these situations. I think that a person like me needs this kind of match much more than champagne tennis matches. These matches can change my season.”
The match
The Argentine Cerundolo was there to lend a hand to Musetti in many moments of the match he allowed free errorsbut Lorenzo put everything he had into it. Having reached the tie-break of the first set after canceling a set ball from Cerundolo, he won 7-5, making fewer mistakes than his opponent. Balance also in the second set up to 5-4 when Musetti closed in his favor on the third match ball with the score 6-4 and then burst into tears. Musetti will face now Casper Ruud.
