"I never played someone who put me on this kind of rush": Lorenzo Musetti in shock to see Jannik Sinner's playing level after US Open quarterfinal defeat

Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti has admitted that he has never played someone like Jannik Sinner after suffering a thumping defeat in the quarterfinal of the US Open. The 23-year-old suffered a straight-set defeat against his fellow countryman in the last-eight contest of the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year with a score of 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.  

It was only the third meeting between the two players in professional tennis and the first since the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2023. Talking after the match, Musetti was asked what had changed in Sinner’s game in the last two years. In response to that, Musetti admitted that he had never been as rushed as Sinner was to him during the match.

“I mean, of course, a lot of things changed from our last meeting,” said Musetti. “Both we grew up, but, of course, him, he became probably the... I never played, honestly, someone who put me on this kind of rush in the rally and I didn't have many chances on the rally and he was always leading the rally. So there was kind of a bad feeling, of course, when I was playing against him. And, of course, I'm pretty impressed by Yannick's performance today. I think he served really well and he was pushing me to my limit. And, of course, he's better than me and he shows. But I'm happy that I played against him to understand even the things that I have to improve. And so hopefully soon I can have a test again.”

Talking about his own performance in the match, Musetti stated that it was a bit different to produce the goods in a night match. “Well, I feel like, of course, first set I was a little bit too much in a rush and I think it was not easy for me to find the right feelings with the ball at the beginning because, you know, I never played on a nice session so far,” said Musetti. “So I think it was kind of different from what I've played in the past matches during the day. But, of course, I felt that Jannik was on another level, I would say, in many, many occasions. And, of course, I had to, the second set, which was, let's say, the best set so far, is the set where I serve better and where I had more chances, you know, at one break point that I didn't take it. And I think with an opponent like him, you have to take the few chances that he gives you and I was not able to do it.”

On the other hand, the win was an important one for Sinner, who became the first Italian player in the Open era to cement a spot in the semifinal of all four Grand Slams in the calendar year. His next-round opponent will be Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinal with a score of 4-6, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6. Talking about Musetti after the match, Sinner stated that it was nice to play Musetti and also highlighted how difficult it is to have a friendship with someone but still compete at the highest level.

“Obviously we know each other very well,’’ said Sinner. “We come from the same country and there are so many Italian players in the draw, it’s nice to play here. Obviously [we play] Davis Cup together and stuff like this. We have to take the friendship away for the match, then obviously when we shake hands, then everything is fine. It’s amazing for sure. At home some Italians say they didn’t sleep. We are very proud to be Italian. It’s a special country where we have amazing support. Italians are basically everywhere.’’