"It’s a surface on which I don’t feel at my best yet" - Lorenzo Musetti admits to not being confident ahead of the Cincinnati Open

Friday, 08 August 2025 at 08:30

Although he is one of the top seeds at the 2025 Cincinnati Open, Italian tennis star Lorenzo Musetti has revealed he is not too fond of the surface at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

The World No.10 will kick off his Cincinnati campaign in the second round, after receiving a first round bye. Musetti faces Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who defeated Musetti's countryman, Matteo Arnaldi in a three-set first round encounter.

After a rollercoaster first half of the season that saw him rise to a career-high ranking of World No.6, Musetti has become one of the more underrated players on tour this season. The 23-year old shocked fans by reaching the final at the Monte-Carlo Masters, falling to former World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in three sets.

Subsequently, Musetti would make a semifinal appearance at the Madrid Open and Italian Open. The home-favorite would again lose to Alcaraz in Rome, but had proven to the tennis community that he belonged among the elite on tour.

Musetti hoping to adapt in Cincinnati

After a splendid semifinal showing at Roland Garros, where Musetti again lost to Alcaraz, the Carrara native has struggled with injury. However, Musetti was able to compete at the Canadian Open, where he lost in the third round and now has his sights set on a deep run at Cincinnati.

This may be easier said than done, as Musetti admitted to not playing his best on the surface in Cincinnati. However, the eighth seed stated he hoped to do his best while making adequate changes in preparation for the US Open at the end of the month.

"It’s nice to be back here in Cincinnati," said Musetti. "There have been a lot of changes and improvements here in the tournament this year, even slightly different conditions that can help me.
"It’s a surface on which I don’t feel at my best yet, but having played before this tournament gives me hope that I can adapt as well as possible. The goal is to do my best in this Masters 1000 where I’ve never had good results and then try to prepare myself as best as possible for the US Open."

Read also

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lorenzo Musetti (@lore_musetti)

Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.

With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.

See author's posts

claps 0visitors 0

"That is the only thing that worries me" - Jimmy Connors voices concern over Novak Djokovic's title chances at the US Open

Overwhelmed by emotions: Naomi Osaka admits forgetting to congratulate Victoria Mboko for winning Canadian Open title