'It’s the dream of all Italy': Musetti discusses buzz over potential final with Sinner

Lorenzo Musetti continues his brilliant form after defeating Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Round of 16 at the Rome Open. Jannik Sinner may draw most of the attention, but Italy has another strong contender in Musetti, who just reached his career-high ranking of world No. 9 and holds an impressive 11-2 record during the clay swing.

The Italian has had an outstanding couple of months, reaching the final in Monte-Carlo and the semifinals in Madrid. Now, at the third Masters 1000 clay event—and this time on home soil—Musetti has every reason to be considered a title favourite.

While Jasmine Paolini is the only Italian woman still in the draw, the men’s side boasts three contenders: Jannik Sinner (No. 1), Lorenzo Musetti (No. 9), and Matteo Berrettini (No. 30). With Sinner and Berrettini positioned in the top half of the draw (potentially facing off in the quarterfinals), Musetti is the sole local player in the bottom half—and an all-Italian final isn’t out of the question.

Musetti didn’t shy away from the topic and highlighted that the tournament deserves an Italian final: “A final against Jannik Sinner? It’s the dream of all Italy, especially considering the form we’re both in and the results we’ve been achieving lately,” he said in a press conference, as quoted by Punto de Break.

“This tournament deserves it, of course, but I don’t know if it will be Jannik and me in the final. I also don’t know if it’ll be an Italian who wins this edition—but I’m sure an Italian will win here soon.”

Sinner will be back on court this Monday to face Jesper de Jong, while Berrettini takes on Madrid Open champion Casper Ruud. Musetti, for his part, will face former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday—he has lost to the Russian twice, though they’ve never played on clay, where Musetti thrives.