Lorenzo Musetti has always been a magician with his tennis racket. Now he’s producing results, too

ROME (AP) — Elegant one-handed backhands. Perfectly placed drop shots. Topspin lobs. Touch volleys.

Lorenzo Musetti can hit just about every shot necessary in tennis.

And that’s partly what’s been holding him back the last few years.

Musetti has so many options available to him that sometimes he tended to choose the wrong shot at the wrong time.

Not anymore.

Musetti has been playing so consistently this clay-court season that he has become the first Italian man to reach at least the semifinals at all three Masters 1000 events on the surface in one season.

Musetti reached the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, the semifinals of the Madrid Open, and now he’s into the last four of his home Italian Open.

“I’m playing the same tennis I always have. But I have a clearer idea of what I need to do on the court now,” Musetti said after beating defending Rome champion Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. “I have a different mentality and with this level I can aim to win any tournament.”

Musetti’s varied arsenal of shots was on full display against Zverev, when he moved the second-ranked German around the court like he was his own yo-yo at times.

So it seemed appropriate that there was a fan in the Foro Italico crowd holding up an Italian flag that had “Forza Lore” written on it accompanied by a design of a magic wand.

Match-point drama

It’s not just variety and shot-making, though, that has enabled Musetti to make his debut in the top 10 of the rankings for the first time this month.

It’s also concentration.

Musetti had set up a match point against Daniil Medvedev when their fourth-round match was interrupted by rain.

The contest was suspended for nearly three hours before the players finally came back out. Musetti closed it out by producing an inside-out forehand winner on the first point of the resumption.

“During the suspension I thought 100,000 times about how it might finish but in the end the reality was even better than my fantasies,” Musetti said.

Juventus motto

In the semifinals on Friday, Musetti will face Carlos Alcaraz, who he led by a set before losing to in the Monte Carlo final, which ended with Musetti limping due to a right leg injury.

While facing Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion, is perhaps the biggest challenge there is on clay, Musetti indicated after beating Zverev that he expects more of himself.

Borrowing a motto from Juventus, his favorite soccer team, Musetti wrote on a TV camera lens: “Fino alla fine” — “All the way.”

Wimbledon and Olympics exploits

Musetti is the same age, 23, as top-ranked Jannik Sinner and he has acknowledged at times how difficult it is to be constantly compared to his fellow Italian.

But Musetti has made progress in reducing the gap to Sinner over the last year, first by reaching the Wimbledon semifinals and then by earning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

Sinner has also advanced to the semifinals in Rome and will play Tommy Paul. No. 5 Jasmine Paolini — another Italian — advanced to the women’s final.

“Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, but if (Musetti) keeps playing like this we’ll meet soon,” Sinner said about the prospect of playing Musetti for the title.

A coach and a babysitter

Musetti has had the same coach, Simone Tartarini, since he was eight — which is a rarity at this level.

Back at the start, Tartarini was a tennis instructor who sometimes performed babysitting duties for Musetti after they trained at the Tennis Club Spezia a half-hour drive from Musetti’s home in Carrara, where Musetti’s father, Francesco, toiled in the town’s famous marble mines.

“He’s a like a second father to me,” Musetti says often of Tartarini.

Carrara is also known as the hometown of Italy soccer great Gianluigi Buffon.

Musetti, like many top tennis players, now lives in Monaco with his girlfriend, Veronica Confalonieri, and their 14-month-old son, Ludovico.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis