"Hope also that Lore has a speedy recovery and gets back 100% quick" - Casper Ruud sportingly wishes Musetti well after sealing another quarter-final in Rome

Another impressive clay court showing by Casper Ruud who is starting to get back in the groove after a respectable 6-4, 6-1 win over Lorenzo Musetti at the Rome Open. The Italian was clearly not at his 100% best physically on court with Ruud showing him respect after the match.

It is a fifth quarter-final sealed for Ruud in the Italian capital. After reaching the semi-final stage in 2020, 2022 and 2023, he has confirmed consecutive last-eight appearances. He plummeted outside the top 20 after reaching this stage in the Madrid Open, losing the chance to continue his title defence after coming unstuck against Alexander Blockx.

He is finding no problem adapting to the conditions at Foro Italico, yet to drop a set in a fine week's worth of tennis by the Norwegian. Following from wins over Zachary Svajda and the inform Jiri Lehecka, Musetti was set to be his toughest challenge yet. It turned out to be simpler than expected.

Ruud broke the Musetti serve late in the first set as he went on to claim a healthy advantage against the ninth seed. A double-break of serve left Ruud in a very strong position. A medical timeout for Musetti continued the trend of injury struggles in 2026. He only just got past Francisco Cerundolo in the third round with physical problems, and it came back to bite him once more. He prevented the bagel but could do little about the three-time Grand Slam champion from storming to glory.

In his on-court interview, he shared his delight to get over the line and prolong his involvement in this tournament. “I was really, really happy with this win,” he said. “Lore [Musetti] was maybe not 100%. I was actually watching the match with Cerundolo and him the other day, towards the end, it got quite dramatic, Lore was limping a little bit.

“It’s not easy when you go out, you see the tape there, that’s the brutality of tennis. You try to do anything you can against your opponent and take advantage. You’re not quite sure what state he is in; it’s easy to think too much about him and not about yourself, but I think I did that quite well today. A little bit of a wobbly first set, but got an early break, and served it out."

Ruud showed his class by sharing a message of sympathy with his opponent, wishing him well. “Happy to be through, but hope also that Lore has a speedy recovery and gets back 100% quick.”

He touched on the tricky conditions in Rome, making it hard for him to compete at times. “It was windy,” he stated. “Coming one way, when you’re against the wind, it’s tougher on clay. You should make points a bit shorter when you’re against the wind, because you know if you rally too much in the end, it will be tough to stand against the wind.

“I was able to do that well, when I was against the wind, I did some really good serves, and was not really letting Lorenzo into the point, and when I had the wind behind my back, I was trying to play as heavy as I could and use it to my advantage. Sun, shade, on and off all the time, it was kind of tricky, but really happy with the performance.”

Ruud will not have to wait long before his quarter-final matchup. He will take on Karen Khachanov who defeated the exciting qualifier Dino Prizmic in straight sets. The Russian is into a maiden quarter-final in Rome, and a first since his run to the final of the 2025 Canadian Open. He got the better of Ruud in the last-16 stage of that event, their last ATP meeting. They also clashed back in this tournament in 2020. Ruud won in three sets as he reached a first Masters 1000 semi-final.