Musetti: The goal is to be in the top 10 this season, and I have the level of a top player on clay

Italy's Musetti reached his first Masters final at the Monte Carlo Masters, but he suffered a right thigh injury in the deciding set, which prevented him from contending with Alcaraz and eventually lost in the deciding set. Although it ended the tournament in a sad way, it was still a very positive week for Musetti.

Musetti

"I was in very good shape today, I knew exactly how I was going to play, but my body didn't keep up. Musetti said after the match, "From the very beginning of the match, in order to make up for the physical shortcomings a little bit, I allowed myself to play more freely. But in the end, my physical condition and the fatigue and pressure that had accumulated over the past few days showed up, so unfortunately I couldn't finish [in good health] and I didn't fight until the last minute. ”

Musetti has beaten Tsitsipas and De Minaur in the top 10 in five three-set matches in this tournament, and his world ranking rose to a new career high of No.11 this week. Musetti has opted out of this week's ATP 500 Barcelona due to a right thigh injury.

"I took a lot of positives from the week and I achieved some of my goals." "Of course we're already looking at other new targets, and we're trying to be more ambitious and keep motivating ourselves, because of course I'm not in the top 10 yet, which should be the main goal this season." But we're very close, so keep fighting, keep dreaming. ”

With the exception of his week in Monte Carlo, Musetti has a good record on clay, including a bronze medal in the men's singles at last year's Paris Olympics, a victory over Djokovic at the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters, and an ATP 500 title in Hamburg in 2022. Now, the Italian is ready for the rest of the clay season.

"Clay is my favourite venue, it's where I feel most at home. This week has given me a lot of confidence and I believe that I can do better in bigger competitions like this one or Roland Garros. "The clay season is a very important part of the year and I don't have a lot of points to keep in place, so I hope I'm ready to do some good results and I think I'm at the level of a top player on clay." ”

(Compiled by Faye Wong, Photo/Visual China)