"It felt like I reached my peak level, and then I got injured. It was really a pity" - Lorenzo Musetti banishes Australian Open disappointment from mind

Lorenzo Musetti's 2026 has not been simple. He has been diverted onto a painful road full of false horizons and huge disappointments. As he continues to get back to his best, he emphasises the importance of not reminiscing on the past after he began his Madrid Open campaign with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Hubert Hurkacz.

The big hitting Pole was always going to be a tricky customer. Musetti was the faster of the two out of the blocks, breaking twice enroute to a 4-1 lead. The United Cup champion got one of the breaks back, but Musetti had no trouble in seeing it out. The second set was more complicated. he survived four break points, a brace of them set points which Hurkacz would go on to regret missing. The 23-year-old then came back from 4-2 down in the tiebreak to win every point on offer, completing a hard fought win and the perfect start to his tournament in Madrid.

"Hubert is such a nice guy, but also a really tough opponent—especially in these conditions, where the serve can be really, really helpful," he told the Tennis Channel after the match. "Today, I think I showed a great performance. The last couple of months have not been really easy for me, so I’m really happy and proud of this performance."

Musetti's clay run last year was one to behold. He reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters as well as semi-final runs in Madrid, Rome and most notably Roland Garros. This means a lot of points will be on the line after that stark rise up the order.

It does not help that injuries have played their part this year. He missed the entire golden swing after pulling out of the quarterfinal clash against Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open despite leading by a healthy margin.

Despite the setbacks, he is feeling good. "Right now, I’m feeling really happy to be healthy again and lucky to compete in good condition and shape," he stated. "After today’s win, I feel more secure and more confident about my game and myself.

"I managed to go through a lot of really tough moments, so I think today’s match gave me that step ahead that I needed—to have a good mentality and come back to the condition I had in Australia and in the first couple of months."

It was a devastating blow to retire from that match in Melbourne, seeing the opportunity of going deep in another Grand Slam cruelly taken out of your hands while playing against one of the greatest tennis players to grace the court.

"It was very tough," he admitted. "It was probably the first time in my life that I felt I was really competing at a high level against Novak Djokovic—I don’t want to say dominating, but I was leading the match. Having played him 10 or 11 times, I had never felt that before. So it felt like I reached my peak level, and then I got injured. It was really a pity."

However, now is not the time to reminisce on past despair. He is fully focused on what comes ahead, banishing any negative thoughts to the back of his mind. "Now I’ve accepted that disappointment, and I’m trying to get back to that level and physical condition."

For Musetti, playing on the practice court has been a delight. Playing some high-level tennis while defeating anyone coming up against him. This has not replicated to the main stage in recent times. While practice makes perfect, Musetti highlighted the impact winning key points in matches has on the player.

"For me, it’s more complicated because in these past months I’ve been practicing really well—I almost never lost a set in practice. But when I step onto the court for a real match, the tension, nervousness, and stress are completely different. It’s not easy to recreate those moments in practice, so you really need to overcome them during matches. That’s what I did today, and I’m really happy about that."

The former world number five admitted that winning on the practice court does not mean you are playing at the best of your abilities. "I don’t think it’s guaranteed that if you win every practice match, you’ll perform well," he said. "But from my personal experience, if I practice well in terms of attitude, mentality, and consistency, I usually find good tennis during the week."

To get the best results, he really focuses his time on making sure that it is as similar as match conditions as possible. This gets him into the right mind frame ahead of a big tournament. "Some players don’t care about winning in practice—they try new things and play differently in matches. I’m not like that," he acknowledged. "I prefer to keep my practice close to match conditions, to build consistency. That helps me during the week, and I’ll keep working on that—even in tomorrow’s practice."

He will be back on the practice court soon enough preparing for his next opponent. That will come in the form of Tallon Griekspoor. The Dutchman reached the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships before withdrawing due to injury. He has since failed to continue that form, winning his first match since that tournament in his opening round clash in Madrid.

Despite his poor form, Musetti was wary. "He’s a great hitter and a great server, so it won’t be easy to return," he commented. "The plan will be to break his rhythm with variation—using slice, drop shots, and mixing the trajectories of the ball. I’ll also try to use the altitude here to make the forehand bounce more, and of course, play the important points well. That will be key."