Roger Federer is my idol, Wimbledon is my favorite Slam: Lorenzo Musetti
Lorenzo Musetti recently revealed that 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer was his idol while growing up, and that Wimbledon is his favorite among the four Slams. As part of the 'Get to know' series with the International Tennis Federation magazine, Musetti answered a series of questions on things that fans may not know about him.
Musetti is the youngest player in the world's top 100, currently placed at the 90th position. The Italian has been making waves on the tour ever since the Rome Masters last year, particularly due to his elegant one-handed backhand.
The similarity in Musetti's playing style and that of Roger Federer is perhaps not surprising given that he has always looked up to the Swiss as his role model.
"Who was your tennis idol growing up?" ITF asked, to which Musetti replied: "Roger Federer."
Lorenzo Musetti picked his win over Stan Wawrinka at the Rome Masters last year as his favorite tennis match. Playing at his home event, the Italian won two matches to qualify for the main draw, and then stunned the three-time Grand Slam winner in the first round.
Musetti went on to defeat Kei Nishikori, before going down to Dominik Koepfer in the third round.
"What has been the favorite tennis match you have been involved in?" ITF asked, to which Musetti replied: "Against Stan Wawrinka last year in Rome."
Lorenzo Musetti also described Wawrinka and World No. 8 Andrey Rublev as his "toughest opponents". The 19-year-old had lost to Rublev in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships last year.
When asked to pick his favorite Slam, Musetti chose the grass courts of Wimbledon over the clay-courts of Roland Garros.
"What is your favourite Grand Slam and why?" ITF asked, to which Musetti replied: "Wimbledon because it is the paradise of tennis."
Among some of his other interesting responses, Lorenzo Musetti revealed that he doesn't own a gaming console and that his favorite sports outside of tennis are basketball and football.
The Italian, who also said his favorite superhero was "Batman", used the words "humble, lazy and funny" to describe himself.
Lorenzo Musetti to meet Aslan Karatsev in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters
Lorenzo Musetti, who reached the third round of the Miami Open Masters recently, is drawn to meet Australian Open semifinalist Aslan Karatsev in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters. That will mark the first meeting between him and the 28th-ranked Karatsev.
If Musetti wins, he will go up against the No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas (who has a first-round bye) in the round of 32. Tsitsipas has a 1-0 record against Musetti, having beaten the young Italian in the semifinals of the Mexican Open in March.