“He is two or three steps ahead of everyone”: Lorenzo Musetti praises Jannik Sinner amid Rome Open run

Lorenzo Musetti was full of praise for compatriot Jannik Sinner in the middle of his campaign at the Italian Open, where the Italian No. 2 reached the Round of 16 after a strong straight-sets win over Francisco Cerúndolo. During his run in Rome, Musetti referred to the ‘gap’ between Sinner and the rest of the players.

Musetti is currently in a battle to remain inside the top-10 during this clay swing, where he is the player defending the most ranking points behind the injured Carlos Alcaraz. A semifinalist in Rome in 2025, the 24-year-old highlighted that Sinner’s current level is something unprecedented in the history of the ATP Tour.

“This year Jannik won five Masters in a row. It's something that no one has ever achieved,” said Musetti during his press conference. “It shows with the facts and the rankings that he is clearly the best in the world at the moment.”

Sharing the dominance with Carlos Alcaraz has faded following the Spaniard’s injury, which will keep him out during the next month, with his return expected during the grass swing. That gives Sinner the chance to continue extending his advantage as world No. 1 in the rankings. “Carlos started the year in the best possible way, winning the only slam he lacked. Then he had to stop due to an injury.”

Recently, comments from Alexander Zverev regarding the difference between Sinner and the rest of the players have generated some debate on Tour, considering that currently Sinner — with 14,350 points — holds a wide lead over his closest pursuers Alcaraz (12,960) and, much further behind, Zverev (5,805).

“I feel like I'm telling the truth right now. No one, not even the best Zverev, who I consider to be the closest player, is at that level,” assured Musetti. “He is having a very important season this year in terms of results and play. We all saw the final in Madrid. Jannik is two or three steps ahead of everyone at the moment.”

Musetti himself has emerged as one of the closest chasers after reaching the top-5 in 2025, although he still recognises there is a long road ahead to reach Sinner’s level. “We hope to get closer to him as soon as possible,” said Musetti. “But right now we have to be realistic and share what Sascha said. That's it.”

The 24-year-old Italian has been coming back from an injury that complicated the start of his season, and the results took time to arrive, causing him to drop in the rankings. This week he needs to reach the semifinals if he wants to avoid falling out of the top-10, and against Cerúndolo he went through difficult moments, eventually securing the win thanks to greater composure in the important points.

“I'm trying to understand how much it is psychological and how much it is physical pain,” said Musetti regarding his performance this Sunday at the Foro Italico. “I think there are some things, some dynamics that need to stay in the team. What I said before about my physical condition, I didn't hide anything. I just said that I'm not at 100% yet.”

“I had some problems in the days before the start of the game. So I had to slow down a bit, both in terms of training and in terms of the game. I had to play with a bandage to prevent certain things.”

“This is my current situation. But today, as I said in the question before, I faced another type of annoyance that was probably linked to the tension, to the emotions. In fact, it was a principle of cramps. So this is my current situation.”

Musetti now awaits his next challenge in the fourth round against the experienced Casper Ruud, who recently dropped out of the top-20 after his early elimination in Madrid Open, where he had been the defending champion. The Norwegian has rediscovered his strong clay-court game this week and, in Rome, the conditions are favourable for him to present an interesting challenge to the one-handed backhand of Musetti.