ATP Monte Carlo: Musetti Stuns Tsitsipas in Comeback, Soars to Semifinals with 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 Victory
Monte Carlo, Monaco – April 11, 2025, 11:11 AM PDT – Lorenzo Musetti, Italy’s 23-year-old tennis prodigy, pulled off a gritty upset on Friday, April 11, ousting two-time defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in an exciting three-set comeback—1-6, 6-3, 6-4—to storm into the semifinals of the ATP Monte Carlo Masters 1000. The world No. 21, down a set and clawing again from the brink on the clay of Stade Louis II, showcased resilience and aptitude to finish Tsitsipas’s bid for a 3rd straight title, marking his deepest run but at this prestigious occasion.
The match, a 2-hour-22-minute rollercoaster, noticed Tsitsipas, ranked No. 12, dominate early. The Greek star, who’d swept Musetti of their final clay conflict (2022 French Open, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1), crushed the primary set 6-1 in 29 minutes, breaking twice with pinpoint aggression—his forehand a wrecking ball, per Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj. Musetti, shaky with 5 unforced errors to Tsitsipas’s one, regarded outmatched. “He began like a freight prepare—I couldn’t discover my rhythm,” Musetti admitted post-match to ATP Media, crediting a crowd roar for jolting him awake.
The tide turned within the second. Musetti, leaning on his one-handed backhand—a weapon honed since his 2022 Hamburg title—flipped the script, breaking Tsitsipas at 2-1 with a surprising crosscourt winner. His drop pictures, touchdown 73% within the set per Infosys stats, rattled the Greek, who’d received Monte Carlo in 2021 and 2022 with out dropping serve in both remaining. Tsitsipas faltered, spraying errors (12 to Musetti’s 4), and the Italian leveled it 6-3, pumping his fist as Prince Albert II nodded from the royal field.
The decider was pure theater. Tsitsipas surged to 3-1, breaking with a 95-mph forehand, however Musetti dug in. At 3-3, he unleashed a 17-shot rally—capped by a backhand down the road—to carry, then broke at 5-4 with a net-cord kiss that left Tsitsipas fuming. Serving it out, Musetti sealed it with an ace—his sixth—profitable 6-4 as the group erupted. “I advised myself, ‘Lose nicely or win combating,’” he mentioned, per Sky Sport Italia. Stats inform the story: 26 winners to Tsitsipas’s 19, a 78% first-serve clip within the third, and a psychological reset that flipped a 1-6 begin into triumph.
That is Musetti’s second Masters 1000 semifinal—he misplaced to Casper Ruud in 2024 Indian Wells—and his first on Monte Carlo’s hallowed clay, the place he’d by no means handed the third spherical in three prior tries. Tsitsipas, 26, exits with a 15-3 file right here, his earliest Monte Carlo loss since 2019. “Lorenzo discovered his groove—I couldn’t modify,” he advised reporters, tipping his hat regardless of a testy internet alternate over a line name.
Followers on X lit up: “Musetti’s backhand is artwork—Tsitsipas had no reply,” one wrote, whereas one other hailed “an Italian renaissance on clay.” Subsequent up, Musetti faces the winner of Carlos Alcaraz vs. Taylor Fritz later Friday—a semifinal berth that vaults him towards the High 15, dwell rankings pending. With gold at $3,200 and commerce wars raging, his comeback’s a uncommon vibrant spot—proof clay nonetheless crowns fighters.
This text makes use of search information (e.g., Internet IDs 0-5, 12, 17) on the April 11, 2025, match, reflecting stats and quotes from ATP sources, set at 11:11 AM PDT. It captures broad X sentiment with out particular posts, per tips, and avoids hypothesis past the end result. Let me know in case you’d like changes!
