“A tennis player must have passion, that’s the only way you can succeed” – Musetti aiming for top 10 breakthrough in 2024
Lorenzo Musetti speaks to Tennis Majors on why passion is the key in tennis, changes in his game and his pursuit of the Top 10
Lorenzo Musetti
One of the brightest talents of his generation, Lorenzo Musetti is already near the top, but still a few steps behind Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.
Musetti, whose one-handed backhand and eye-catching style of play brings a lot of people to the stands, isn’t rushing anywhere. Aware that everyone’s path is different, the 21-year-old is very pleased with his career so far, but still dreams big at the same time.
To date, Musetti has won two ATP titles (Hamburg and Napoli in 2022), risen to a career-high ranking of 15 (he is currently 25th in the world), but hasn’t been able to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam.
Adopting a more aggressive style of play was one of the key focus areas for Musetti and his team during the off-season preparations, he told Tennis Majors in an exclusive interview. Furthermore, Musetti spoke on what it takes to get to top 10, the new coach he added to his team and how he has changed over his three years on the ATP Tour.
You’ve made a big leap in the rankings – what are the things you feel you need to improve in order to reach top 10?
Lorenzo Musetti: That surely is my goal, to break into the top 10, that’s why I put in all the hard work. With victories comes confidence and positivity. I have to maintain the high level of my game, to be more consistent.
That’s one thing, and the second is to put more effort on the court, especially during practice. If I am able to do that, I will be closer to making a step forward, a step towards the top 10.
Did you work on something specific in the offseason?
Lorenzo Musetti: We worked really hard on serve and on the return and I feel I’ve made some improvements in those aspects of the game. Also, we’ve worked on being more aggressive, more attacking-minded from both sides, but especially to try to dictate with my forehand and come to the net. Those were our main goals during preparations for 2024.
A lot of players have decided to hire a "supercoach" nowadays, the latest example being Holger Rune working with Boris Becker. Have you considered something like that for yourself in the future?
Lorenzo Musetti: Well, Corrado Barazzutti (a 70-year-old who won five ATP titles and rose to No 7 in the rankings) joined our team in November, he spent a few weeks with me and Simone (Tartarini, the main coach).
Corrado is a former champion and has vast experience in coaching – he was the Italian Fed Cup and Davis Cup captain for almost 20 years. Also, he coached Fabio Fognini and I really feel that he can contribute to my game in the future, hopefully this season too.
How have you changed as a person since you joined the ATP Tour?
Lorenzo Musetti: First year is always tough, because it’s your first time there wherever you go. It’s not like that anymore. Sometimes you can get bored doing the same thing every day, having the same journey every year. A tennis player must have passion, that’s the only way you can succeed.
I’ve changed a lot, I’ve matured, I am becoming a father soon. When I started, everything was still a dream. At that time, if someone came to me and told me, “You are going to be in the top 20 or top 15 in the world,” I would have signed up immediately. Hopefully I can fulfill another dream of mine, to reach the top 10.
Thanks to Branka Bauk for her help in writing this article
