Alex de Minaur’s brilliant run at the Monte-Carlo Masters has sadly ended in this unexpected but unfavourable fashion. The Aussie tennis sensation went to battle against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the final four round. Though he put up an impressive attempt, he was unsuccessful, eventually losing the match 1-6, 6-4, 7-6. This loss prevents de Minaur advancing to his second final of the year. He overlooks the opportunity to be the first Australian since John Newcombe in 1969 to reach the final of this prestigious Masters 1000 event.
After a few tricky service games to open the match, De Minaur found his rhythm and ran away with the first set, taking it easily 6-1. With his thundering serves and ball-slicing, net-rushing groundstrokes, a title felt like the most logical outcome for him. Musetti displayed incredible mental fortitude, opening the door for an improbable comeback that changed the direction of the entire match. Over the course of two hours and thirty-eight minutes, de Minaur struggled to maintain his earlier form as Musetti found his rhythm, eventually clinching the match.
Impressive Performance Leading Up to the Semifinals
Over the course of the tournament, de Minaur put on a display of sheer talent matched with pure fight. He opened his campaign by giving a Masterclass to Daniil Medvedev, winning their last-16 clash 6-2, 6-2. From there, he faced off against Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals. He put on the performance of the decade, winning 6-0, 6-0 in a match that lasted less than an hour. These big wins sent him flying into the semis and showcased what an imposing player he can be on the ATP Tour.
Despite de Minaur’s early success, performance against Musetti showed that he was not without holes to be found and exploited. As monstrous as his artillery instituted the first set, it didn’t follow him into the rest of the sets. The raucous Italian crowd on Court Rainier III expressed its joy and respect in full, wild support for Musetti. This energy fueled the Italian’s comeback and put mounting pressure on de Minaur to try and regain control of the match.
The Road Ahead for De Minaur and Musetti
After this loss, de Minaur will have to rethink his approach heading into the next tournament as he looks to make a deeper run in future events. Even as the world number 10, he has a lot of mistakes to look past, but he has a good base to develop from. Most recently in February, de Minaur faced off against rising upstart Carlos Alcaraz at the Rotterdam Open. Unfortunately, he lost that serve. This recent semifinal at Monte-Carlo ties another layer of motivation as he hopes for excelling in forthcoming competitions.
First-time finalist Lorenzo Musetti will take on Carlos Alcaraz in the final. Alcaraz booked his place by beating his fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina 7-6, 6-4 in the other semifinal. On the surface, this matchup is an intriguing fight between two young guns of men’s tennis.
