Lorenzo Musetti couldn’t hold back the tears after losing another final at the Chengdu Open. The Italian star was devastated, and honestly, you could see why.
Tennis can be pretty brutal sometimes. And Musetti’s learning that the hard way.
The 23-year-old has been playing some seriously good tennis lately. Since 2024, he’s reached finals at Wimbledon, Queen’s Club, and a few other tournaments. Not bad at all.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lorenzo Musetti | 23 | 1,290 | 11 - 15 |
This year’s been even better for him, especially on clay courts. He made it to the final at the Monte-Carlo Masters where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz. He also reached the semifinals at Madrid, Rome, and the French Open.
But here’s the thing that’s really getting to him – he keeps losing in finals.
Musetti has now lost five straight finals. That’s gotta hurt.
Going into the Chengdu final against Alejandro Tabilo, Musetti was the favorite. He’s ranked No. 9 in the world, after all. Tabilo’s a solid player, but on paper, this should’ve been Musetti’s moment.
Instead, it turned into his most heartbreaking loss yet.
After dropping the first set, Musetti fought back hard. He actually had two championship points on Tabilo’s serve. Two chances to finally break that losing streak.
He couldn’t convert either one.
Then things got really dramatic. Musetti was leading 4-1 in the final set and looked like he was finally going to get his hands on a trophy. But Tabilo had other plans.
The Chilean won six of the last seven points to steal the title right from under Musetti’s nose.
The crowd was stunned. Musetti was devastated.
As soon as the match ended, Musetti sat down and just broke down. He buried his face in a towel, but you could still tell he was crying underneath it. The emotions just poured out.
It’s completely understandable, really. Losing five finals in a row would get to anyone, especially when you’re that close to winning.
The show must go on
Most players might take a break after something like that. Not Musetti.
He’s decided to play in the China Open in Beijing right away. Maybe he figures the best way to deal with the disappointment is to get back out there.
His first-round opponent? Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Mpetshi Perricard is basically a serving machine. The guy’s got the best serve on tour right now, and he can make life really difficult for players like Musetti who like to get into a rhythm and entertain the crowd.
But here’s some good news for the Italian – he’s got Mpetshi Perricard’s number. Musetti has won all three of their previous matches and has only lost two sets out of ten against the big Frenchman.
Jannik Sinner will probably be the guy to beat in Beijing. His chances just got a lot better too, since Alcaraz decided to play in Tokyo instead this year.
Last year’s Beijing final was pretty epic, actually. Alcaraz beat Sinner in a deciding set tiebreak after an absolutely brutal match. Those two have already faced off in three Grand Slam finals this year, including what many people are calling one of the greatest matches ever at the French Open.
For Musetti, though, it’s all about trying to forget Chengdu and focus on what’s next. He’s too good a player not to win more titles – it’s really just a matter of time.
But man, that fifth final loss is going to sting for a while.
