Musetti overcomes Rune challenge, into Roland-Garros quarters
Lorenzo Musetti won against Holger Rune 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday evening. He’ll face American Frances Tiafoe, the No 15 seed, in the next round
Lorenzo Musetti, Roland-Garros 2025 | © Michtof / PsnewZ
Lorenzo Musetti proved stronger than Holger Rune (7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2) and secured a well-deserved spot in the Roland-Garros quarter-finals on Sunday during the night session. This was the first match of the tournament featuring two Top 10 players, both of whom have enjoyed a solid clay-court season.
The match, which ended after midnight, completed the bottom half of the men’s quarter-final draw, which will take place on Tuesday:
- Musetti (No. 8) vs. Tiafoe (No. 15)
- Alcaraz (No. 2) vs. Paul (No. 12)
The other four fourth-round matches will be played on Monday: Sinner vs. Rublev, Draper vs. Bublik, Zverev vs. Griekspoor, and Djokovic vs. Norrie.
On paper, the seedings held true between Rune and Musetti, although this is only the Italian’s second Grand Slam quarter-final, after his semi-final run at Wimbledon last summer. For Holger Rune, the quarter-finals continue to be his ceiling at the Slams—he’s reached this stage at Roland-Garros in 2022 and 2023, and Wimbledon in 2023.
Musetti: “To demotivate him”
The match was as balanced as expected during the first two sets, which the players split. Losing a nearly 70-minute first set (7-5) didn’t shake Rune’s focus—he came back to level the match at one set all, maintaining the break he had secured early in the second set (6-3).
But Musetti’s aggressive game—something he now fully embraces—gradually wore down Rune. The Dane also seemed to struggle physically during the final hour, just two days after a marathon against Quentin Halys on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
“At the second set, Holger was extremely aggressive, and it paid off for him,” said Musetti on Amazon Prime, the French broadcaster of the night session. “I changed my approach at the beginning of the third, brought more intensity. I tried to break him right away—I wanted, in a way, to demotivate him.”
On the physical sharpness that tilted the match in his favor, Musetti confirmed he felt he was playing his best tennis in Paris: “This proves that I’m working well with my team. When you play your best tennis, you live in the moment—you’re flying on court. That’s kind of how I felt tonight. I knew it would be a physical battle.”
Musetti vs. Tiafoe in the quarter-finals
A finalist in Monte-Carlo and a semi-finalist in Rome, Musetti will be the favorite again in his quarter-final against Frances Tiafoe. He continues to affirm his status as a clay-court specialist determined to achieve the best results of his career.
“I expressed my ambitions at the start of the tournament—I want to go as far as possible. I dream big, and it’s with that kind of conviction that you beat this kind of player,” said Musetti, who had never beaten Rune in two previous meetings on the Tour. “I was convinced I could beat Holger. I wanted to perform at that level to make it happen, and tonight I’m very proud of myself.”
So far, only Top 5 players have managed to eliminate Musetti at Roland-Garros: Djokovic (No. 1) in 2021 and 2024, Alcaraz (No. 1) in 2023, and Tsitsipas (No. 4) in 2022. If he overcomes Tiafoe—who has yet to drop a set—Musetti will face the winner of Carlos Alcaraz vs. Tommy Paul.
Paris (Grand Slam), other last 16 results (Roland-Garros, clay, EUR 56.352.000, most recent results first):
- Jannik Sinner vs. Andrey Rublev
- Alexander Bublik vs. Jack Draper
- Cameron Norrie vs. Novak Djokovic
- Alexander Zverev vs. Tallon Griekspoor
- Frances Tiafoe beat Daniel Altmaier: 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4)
- Carlos Alcaraz (2) beat Ben Shelton (13): 7-6 (8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
- Tommy Paul (12) beat Alexei Popyrin (25): 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
