After his first-round win over Benjamin Bonzi Lorenzo Musetti opens up about his newfound balance between tennis, love and imminent fatherhood
It is never easy to joggle family and profession in our hyperkinetic era. After reaching the second round of the Australian Open for the first time in his young career, Lorenzo Musetti is eager to open up about his life and how he has developed an optimistic vision of the future.
“I’m very happy for my first victory at the Australian Open. Last year I was very disappointed when I was defeated in the fifth set after recovering from two sets down [in 2023 he lost in the first round to Lloyd Harris in the super tiebreak]. This year I took a two-set lead, then lost the third and was very good at recovering an initial break in the fourth. Today it wasn’t easy to play, it was hot, it was a very hot first day, then he’s a player who lets me do very little and the small court we played on didn’t help me.”
Could this win mean that the wavering results of last season definitely belong in the past?
“I feel good now, I think I showed I have worked well in preparation, even if maybe I didn’t have the results I could have, especially in the match against Bublik [to whom Musetti lost in Adelaide after having match point]. I hope to bring a more mature Lorenzo in 2024, as a dad, I am preparing myself as best I can to find greater maturity in my tennis as well, not only outside. We’re working mainly on that, in addition to the technical aspects, of course. I hope I can take advantage of these three months in which I don’t have any results to defend in the standings.”
There have been two important changes in this off-season: he is now managed by IMG and former Italian Davis Cup Captain Corrado Barazzutti has joined his coaching team.
“Corrado has always cared for me, I chose him because I knew I could rely on him. He is not a mercenary who is driven by economic reasons or desire for fame. He is a man of passion and I believe he can bring a great contribution to our team in terms of experience. He has always had an excellent relationship with Simone [Tartarini, Musetti’s long-time coach], and now we have spent two weeks of preparation in Monte Carlo to integrate him into the daily work, I immediately saw that we are all on the same page. He’s a great motivator, he’s a person who can boost you up and motivate you.”
Lorenzo’ girlfriend, Veronica, is going to give birth to their first child in spring. How is the Italian 21-year-old going to tackle the double challenge of two simultaneous budding careers: tennis player and father?
“I think you have to be good at separating the two things, even if certainly in the past season I had many ‘firsts’, many choices involved by the transition from boy to man, many choices that will affect my life. However, when there is love, perhaps that’s the best ‘chemistry’: Veronica is my first supporter, thanks to her I found the motivation that I had slightly lost, not because of her, but because I had lost sight of the focus of my life, thinking a little too much about extra-tennis stuff. I think it’s easy to understand why, I wasn’t ready for what happened, we weren’t ready, but now I think I’ve found my balance and the right path to follow.”
