World No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti discussed his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo Masters final, where he lost 6-3, 1-6, 0-6.
“Today I felt the ball very well and had a clear understanding of what I needed to do. However, it was physically challenging. From the beginning, I tried to compensate with relaxed play. But ultimately, physical issues, fatigue, and stress accumulated over the past days and matches took over. Unfortunately, I couldn`t finish the match in the sense that I couldn`t fight until the end.”
When asked about the difficulty of playing against Alcaraz, Musetti responded: “Carlos is already a legend in this sport, even though he is younger than me. He breaks records, and you can sometimes feel his aura on the court. I played a fantastic first set today, forcing him to change something in his game. Probably, if I had been 100% physically ready, I could have lasted longer. It is essential to be in top physical condition to beat guys like him. As I said on court, I will try to avenge this loss – hopefully soon.”
Regarding his feelings about leaving the tournament, Musetti said: “I can take away a lot of positives. Of course, we are already focused on other goals and trying to be ambitious because I haven`t entered the Top 10 yet. That`s the main goal for the season right now. But we are close enough to keep fighting and dreaming. Clay is my favorite surface, my natural habitat. This week gave me confidence, and now I will be more ambitious in tournaments like this one or Roland Garros. This is an important part of the season, and I don`t have many points to defend. So, I hope I will be ready to do something great. I feel my level is sufficient to achieve something on clay,” Musetti stated at the press conference.
Musetti`s coach added: “This morning during warm-up, Lorenzo felt a problem with his quadriceps.”
