Did Lorenzo Musetti Overcome His Biggest Challenge Yet at the French Open?

Paris, May 30 (NationPress) The Italian sensation Lorenzo Musetti faced his first major challenge at this year's French Open on Friday, staging a remarkable comeback from a set and a break down to defeat Mariano Navone and secure his place in the fourth round, matching his best performance at this clay-court spectacle. Musetti triumphed with scores of 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, advancing to the Round of 16.

The eighth-seeded athlete initially found himself trailing Navone 4-6, 0-2 but demonstrated exceptional resilience to turn the match around against the Argentine, who has previously reached tour-level finals on clay.

This season, the 23-year-old Musetti has displayed a newfound grit and determination. The 2024 Olympic bronze medallist began to find his rhythm with his backhand and effectively utilized his slice and powerful forehand to disrupt Navone's game in the sweltering conditions.

After committing 19 unforced errors in the opening set, Musetti significantly reduced his mistakes, tallying only 31 across the next three sets to seal his advancement after a grueling three hours and 28 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

“The conditions were completely different from my previous matches. The ball wasn’t bouncing as high, and I was initially surprised, struggling to find my best physical shape,” Musetti remarked, as reported by ATP Tour.

“However, I began to feel more comfortable and improved my game, so I’m thrilled and really proud of my comeback,” he added.

Having not dropped a set in his prior victories against Yannick Hanfmann and Daniel Elahi Galan, Musetti has been in outstanding form on clay since last July's Olympics in Paris. Ranked No. 7 in the ATP Rankings, he reached his first ATP Masters 1000 title match in Monte Carlo in April and proceeded to the semifinals in both Madrid and Rome.

With a 17-3 record on clay in 2025, the Italian now sets his sights on reaching the quarterfinals at Roland Garros for the first time, facing off against 10th seed Holger Rune.

Musetti has faced heartbreak at Roland Garros before, notably in his debut in 2021 when he led Novak Djokovic by two sets before ultimately losing. Nonetheless, this is a rejuvenated Musetti, who displayed his confidence with a celebratory flex after improving his record to 2-0 against Navone in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Meanwhile, on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Rune mounted a comeback to defeat Frenchman Quentin Halys 4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, securing his fourth consecutive advancement to the fourth round in Paris.

The 22-year-old Dane was perilously close to defeat while serving at 4-5, 15/30 in the fourth set but raised his game, winning nine of the last eleven games. Rune boasts a 7-3 record in fifth sets at major tournaments.

Ranked World No. 10, Rune has reached the quarterfinals in Paris twice and has now become the ninth man in the Open Era to reach the fourth round in each of his first four appearances, joining legends like Rafael Nadal, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Jim Courier, Mats Wilander, and Bjorn Borg.

Having clinched the title at the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona in April, Rune heads into his matchup against Musetti with a 2-0 advantage in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.