Lorenzo Musetti confirmed his place in the round of 16 of the Madrid Open by defeating Tallon Griekspoor.
The Italian defeated the Dutchman in straight sets to set up a last 16 match with Jiri Lehecka at the Spanish tournament.
Musetti has been dealing with injury issues in 2026, but he’s looked impressive against Hubert Hurkacz and Griekspoor in Madrid.
The star is a clay court specialist, but he believes there is one key difference between the Madrid clay and anywhere else on the ATP Tour.
Lorenzo Musetti highlights big difference in Madrid
Musetti reached the semi-finals of the Madrid Open last year, but he had previously struggled at the Spanish tournament.
The Italian believes the altitude in Madrid makes the clay much harder to play on than any other clay court event.
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“The big difference this tournament has compared to others is the altitude, as here we play at 500 to 600 meters. It’s not really the clay that changes,” he said in his post-match press conference.
However, he believes the changes to the conditions actually help his current game.
“Honestly, the conditions suit my game very well. I like it when the ball takes the spin I want with my backhand or serve, and I feel the ball spins a lot here, and the slice works very well too. The most challenging part might be the forehand, which is difficult to control at times.”
Musetti has been drawn in the same half of the draw as Jannik Sinner and he will play the world number one in the semi-finals if he gets there.
Lorenzo Musetti’s impressive run to the 2025 Madrid Open semi-finals
Before 2025, Musetti had not reached past the third round of the Madrid Open, giving him a 2-4 win-loss record.
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The Italian won double the amount of matches in 2025 to reach the final four of the Spanish Masters tournament.
Musetti defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alex de Minaur, and Gabriel Diallo, before his run was ended at the hands of Jack Draper.
The star continued his magnificent run on the clay by reaching the semi-finals of the Italian Open and Roland Garros back-to-back after Madrid in 2025.
Musetti will be hoping for a similar run this year as he looks to keep hold of his place inside the top 10 of the rankings.
