MATCH POINT: Lorenzo Musetti powers through Alex de Minaur to reach Madrid quarterfinals

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In a match that ended after midnight on Wednesday night (or Thursday morning), Lorenzo Musetti took out world No. 7 Alex de Minaur, 6-4, 6-2, to secure his spot in the quarterfinals of Madrid.

And that’s not the only spot he secured with the win.

He’ll now become the newest member of the Top 10 when the new ATP rankings come out next Monday, after Madrid, rising from No. 11 to at least No. 10 no matter what happens the rest of the week.

He’s currently at No. 9 on the ATP’s live rankings, with Daniil Medvedev and Casper Ruud—who are at No. 10 and No. 14, respectively—the only players who can pass his points. But since those two play each other in the quarterfinals, only one of them can possibly pass him, guaranteeing him at least No. 10.

He could go as high as No. 5 with a title, depending on other results.

Musetti will become the sixth Italian player to reach the Top 10 in ATP rankings history, which dates back to 1973.

ITALIANS TO REACH TOP 10 ON ATP RANKINGS:

  • Adriano Panatta [ATP Top 10 debut in 1973]
  • Corrado Barazzutti [ATP Top 10 debut in 1978]
  • Fabio Fognini [ATP Top 10 debut in 2019]
  • Matteo Berrettini [ATP Top 10 debut in 2019]
  • Jannik Sinner [ATP Top 10 debut in 2021]
  • Lorenzo Musetti [ATP Top 10 debut in 2025]

Also, Musetti—who was born in 2002—will be just the third man born in 2002 or later to reach the Top 10, after Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, who were both born in 2003 and cracked the elite in 2022.

Musetti is 9-1 on clay this year, the only loss coming to Carlos Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo final.

Musetti is 9-1 on clay this year, the only loss coming to Carlos Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo final.

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Musetti’s Top 10 breakthrough should come as no surprise given his week-to-week consistency on the tour over the last year.

He’s now reached the quarterfinals or better 11 times in the last 12 months, and the semifinals or better nine times—highlighted by his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon last summer, as well as his first Masters 1000 final in Monte Carlo last month.

He also won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, but that didn’t contribute to his ranking as there were no ranking points there.

On Thursday night he’ll try to reach his 10th semifinal in the 12 months as he takes on Canadian rising star Gabriel Diallo in the quarterfinals in the Spanish capital. Diallo, who got into the draw as a lucky loser, took out another Top 20 player, Grigor Dimitrov, en route to his first career Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

The two have met twice before, and they’ve actually split those meetings, with Diallo prevailing in a Davis Cup match in 2023, 7-5, 6-4, and Musetti getting revenge in Hong Kong this year, 6-4, 6-3.

Both of those meetings were on hard courts.