Lorenzo Musetti makes feelings known after upsetting Alexander Zverev to reach the Italian Open SF

Lorenzo Musetti played one of his best matches in 2025 to upset second-seeded Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open on Wednesday (May 14). Following his victory, the 23-year-old expressed approval for the support he has received at Foro Italico as he suggested that they were crucial in his successful campaign thus far.

Musetti started his last-eight outing in Rome in less-than-ideal fashion, dropping serve twice before Zverev came up with four set points on his serve at 6-5 up. The Italian saved all four of them with some gutsy play, though, before taking the opening set in a tiebreaker convincingly. Both players then held serve throughout the first eight games of the second set until the German blinked at 4-4, being broken by his younger opponent, who completed a 7-6(1), 6-4 a few minutes later to book his place in the semifinals of the 2025 Italian Open.

In his post-match on-court interview afterwards, Lorenzo Musetti attributed his win to the partisan crowd at Stadio Centrale. Buoyed by raucous support at his home tournament, the eighth seed admitted that he could feel the "adrenaline" and the "energy" from the fans from the get-go, ultimately fueling his comeback in the first set.

"It’s amazing. It’s so late. Full crowd. Full stadium. That’s a big advantage. All this week, it’s been an incredible support from the fans," Lorenzo Musetti said during his on-court interview in Rome after reaching Italian Open SFs. "From the crowd. I felt adrenaline and the energy from the first point even if it wasn’t an easy start. I managed to come back and find a way. That’s the key of this match."

Musetti will next face third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz for a place in the title match at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome. While the 23-year-old has defeated the Spaniard on clay in the past, he lost their most recent encounter in the final of the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters in three sets.

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Lorenzo Musetti achieves career-best result at Italian Open by reaching SFs

Lorenzo Musetti tracks down a ball at Italian Open 2025 | Image Source: Getty

Before this week, Lorenzo Musetti's career-best result at the Italian Open was reaching the fourth round in 2023. More notably, the World No. 9 exited the 1000-level event in the second round last year. All of these setbacks didn't deter him from making it to the last four at Foro Italico this year, though, as he hit a rich vein of form.

Having received a first-round Bye, the Italian hasn't dropped a set en route to the semifinals. He has beaten quality opponents like Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and Brandon Nakashima and will like his chances going into his last-four outing in Rome later this week.