Casper Ruud shares message to Lorenzo Musetti after beating him at the Italian Open

Casper Ruud cruised past Lorenzo Musetti, 6-3, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.

Musetti has been dealing with fitness issues throughout the season, and he didn’t look anywhere near full strength in this match.

After sealing the win, Ruud wrote ‘Feel better, Lore’ on the camera lens as a message to his opponent.

He followed it up with some more words of encouragement for Musetti during his post-match interview.

Ruud wishes Musetti a quick recovery after straightforward win

Ruud was happy with the win and his overall play, but he acknowledged that Musetti wasn’t fully fit.

“I was really, really happy with this win,” he said.

“Lore [Musetti] was maybe not 100%. I was actually watching the match with [Francisco] Cerundolo and him the other day. Towards the end, it got quite dramatic, Lore was limping a little bit.

“It’s not easy when you go out, you see the tape there, that’s the brutality of tennis. You try to do anything you can against your opponent and take advantage. You’re not quite sure what state he is in; it’s easy to think too much about him and not about yourself, but I think I did that quite well today.

“A little bit of a wobbly first set, but got an early break, and served it out.

Ruud also commented on the conditions in Rome, which made things more difficult than usual.

“It was windy!” Ruud explained. “Coming one way when you’re against the wind makes it tougher on clay.”

The 25-year-old elaborated on how playing into a headwind changes his approach:

Ruud will now prepare for his fifth Italian Open quarter-final appearance where he will face either Karen Khachanov or Dino Prizmic next.

Lorenzo Musetti’s injury struggles continue

It’s easy to forget that Musetti led Novak Djokovic by two sets to love at the Australian Open in January.

Unfortunately for Musetti, he picked up an injury at the worst possible time, forcing him to retire from that match.

Since then, he’s struggled to rediscover the form that sent him to the ATP Finals in 2025.

After making the semi-finals of all three clay-court Masters 1000 events and Roland Garros last year, fans hoped he would deliver similar results in 2026.

That hasn’t happened, leaving Musetti with work to do before the French Open begins.

The question is no longer whether Musetti can challenge for the Roland Garros title, but whether he will be fit to compete.

The 2026 French Open begins on Sunday, May 24, although Musetti is scheduled to play in Hamburg beforehand.

Read more: