Lorenzo Musetti praised Carlos Alcaraz and called him the Tennis King Midas.
The 21-year-old Italian, currently ranked world No. 18, is one of the young tennis players who have reached the top ranks at an early age, although still overshadowed by other stars like his compatriot Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, and the world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
Musetti faced the Spanish player twice, first in the final of the 2022 Hamburg Open, defeating the Spanish player who was the first seed. After the tournament, the Italian climbed from world No. 62 to 31 and has since fluctuated between the 15th and 30th positions in the ATP ranking over the last year.
In their second encounter in the fourth round of the 2023 French Open, Alcaraz, as the world No. 1, convincingly defeated the Italian with a score of 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, displaying a much superior level to Musetti.
Precisely, the Italian commented on the growth that Alcaraz has shown in the last year, winning two Grand Slams and reaching the world No. 1.
“In one year he has made incredible progress in terms of tennis, but also physically and in his awareness of his own means. Today [he] is the reference, the player to beat,” Musetti said.
“He is the King Midas of tennis: what he touches turns to gold. He is both a friend and a source of inspiration, having beaten him is a boast, but also an additional motivation to do it again,” he added.
The Italian also commented on the recent statements made by Goran Ivanisevic, the coach of Novak Djokovic, who said that the only ones who can threaten Alcaraz at the US Open are 'Nole' and Sinner.
“Alcaraz is a story in itself and Sinner is the only one who can threaten him at the US Open along with Novak. Sinner's game bothers Alcaraz and they've had some very interesting encounters so far,” Ivanisevic said.
“I disagree [with Ivanisevic's views]. There are many players who can upset him and there are others who are flourishing and whose true value we have not yet seen,” the Italian stated,” Musetti opined about it.
Musetti says everything Carlos Alcaraz touches is gold: "Today, he's the reference, the player to beat. He's King Midas of tennis: what he touches turns to gold. He's a friend & a source of inspiration, beating him is a source of pride but also motivation to do it again."
