Musetti defeated by Ruud: "I wasn't feeling well, but I didn't want to retire." Now, Paris is in jeopardy.

Rome – He wasn't even supposed to play in this tournament. "If we were anywhere else in the world, I would have withdrawn. But how can you say no to Rome?" Lorenzo Musetti tried to hold on as long as he could, but the pain in his left thigh was too much. He's saying goodbye to Rome and to the Top 10. And now, he risks having to withdraw from the Roland Garros tournament in Paris. Musetti: "I apologize, I didn't want to retire." The other day, he had a hard-fought victory against the Argentinian Cerundolo, after a winning debut against the French player Mpetshi Perricard. Today, on the main court, things went very badly. He lost the final game 6-0, serving. The player from Carrara is leaving the Italian Open in the round of 16 with a clear defeat, beaten by the Norwegian Ruud in a match without much suspense (6-3, 6-1), which lasted only one hour and 17 minutes. During the match, the Italian player requested medical attention to have his right thigh massaged and then bandaged again. "Lollo" suffered the decisive break in the first set at 2-3, due to a forced error and then a double fault. In the second set, he lost his serve after a very long opening game, then at 3-0 he took a medical timeout and had to retire. In the ATP rankings, he loses the 300 points he earned in last year's edition and falls out of the Top 10. "It hurts a lot. I still hope for Paris." "I apologize for the show I put on. Today, my physical condition didn't allow me to play as I wanted. I didn't want to retire because I'm tired of doing it, and I wanted to give my all in this match, but the problem was too big." Lorenzo is disappointed. But will he at least be able to go to Paris? "In the next few days, I will have more targeted checkups, which I couldn't do during the tournament. I hope the pain is less severe than expected. I don't understand what's happening to me: so many small, annoying injuries." A 2026 that started very badly. "After Australia, injuries and setbacks have accumulated, I'm in a negative zone. Let's hope things improve. I need to go to Paris and with a different attitude. We are working, we hope to find a solution." He confesses that he sees a "blurred" future ahead of him. "It's tough, even mentally. It's difficult to stay clear-headed, positive, and proactive. I still hope for Paris, and to start making up ground in the summer, but I need to be in better shape." Things seem to be going better for next week in Madrid. "In Rome, I always played on one leg." From Monday, he will be outside the Top 10. "It hurts a lot. And it's a real shame, considering that I entered the Top 10 thanks to the Italian Open last year. I'm left with the affection of the audience: it was nice to share those moments."