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Watch: Lorenzo Musetti Gets Booed After Retiring from an Injury at the China Open

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Victor Okechukwu | Last updated Sep 29, 2025 4:28 PM ET

Lorenzo Musetti failed to seal his place in the semi-finals of the China Open after he fell to American youngster Learner Tien. The Italian star was hoping to earn a place in the last four stages of the ATP 500 a few hours after his fellow compatriot and World No.2 Jannik Sinner had done the same.

Musetti entered the match as the favorite and in form, having recently reached the final of the Chengdu Open. He started right away against Tien with precision and aggression, beating the American star in every aspect of the game. He claimed the first set 6-3 after breaking the youngster twice.

But in the second set, Musetti didn’t start the way he finished the first. Tien broke him early and then led 2-1 before the Italian star took a medical timeout. He was struggling with a left thigh injury and needed a physio to massage his leg while lying on the court. After a few minutes, he returned back to the court.

However, things did not get better for Musetti as Tien took the initiative and began to play better, dominating the game with his sharp volleys and groundstrokes. He won the set 6-3 after breaking Musetti in the first and fourth games. In the third set, Musetti got worse as he lost his first game.

He then requested another medical timeout, but when he returned to the court, Tien extended his lead to 3-0. The Italian star then decided to retire from the match amidst the boos of the crowd, which was due to his controversial comments towards the Chinese during his first-round match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Crowd’s reaction to Musetti’s retirement… tough. pic.twitter.com/5BKDWDtd6I
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) September 29, 2025

Musetti apologized for his comments a day after the win against Perricard. He also apologized on the court on Sunday (September 28), after beating Adrian Mannarino in straight sets. But the Chinese fans hadn’t forgotten his comments and booed him after he retired against Tien.

Nonetheless, Tien is in his first ATP 500 semi-finals. He will face former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev , who defeated Alexander Zverev in straight sets. It will be the second meeting between Tien and Medvedev, with the former leading the latter 1-0. Their first meeting came at the Australian Open in January, where Tien defeated the Russian star in five sets.

Lorenzo Musetti admits he expected boos from the crowd after his comments in his opening match

Lorenzo Musetti was booed by the Chinese crowd when he walked into the court before facing Adrian Mannarino in the round of 16. The fans’ reaction came as a result of his complaining that they coughed often during his opening match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. In fact, each time he wanted to serve, some members of the crowd intentionally coughed to see his reaction.

During an interview with Ubitennis, he was asked how he felt about the fans’ reaction to his statement. The former World No.6 revealed that he expected the crowd to boo him during the match, while adding that he hopes his apologies were accepted.

Obviously, I expected this kind of reaction from the fans. I believe, in a way, I deserved it, which is why I wanted to apologize personally on the microphone at the end of the match. I hope that, in addition to social media, my apologies are appreciated.

It remains to be seen whether Musetti will be able to recover quickly from the injury to compete at the Shanghai Masters. Also, he needs to compete in tournaments as he’s set on securing a spot at the ATP Finals. The Italian star has reached the semi-finals of the French Open and the quarter-finals of the US Open this season.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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