Musetti beats Tiafoe to reach the French Open semifinals

PARIS (AP) — Lorenzo Musetti used his sleek one-handed backhand and sprint-then-slide court coverage to reach his first semifinal at the French Open, and second at a Grand Slam tournament, by beating Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 Tuesday in the same stadium where he won a bronze medal at last year's Olympics.

When the match ended, Musetti, a 23-year-old Italian, rolled up his green shirt's right sleeve and flexed his biceps. No one would be surprised if things get tougher on Friday: That's when Musetti will meet defending champion Carlos Alcaraz for a berth in the championship match.

Alcaraz wasn't really tested Tuesday night during a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over No. 12 Tommy Paul, who had his right thigh heavily taped and wasn't able to produce his best tennis.

No. 8 seed Musetti and No. 1 Jannik Sinner — who faces unseeded Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals Wednesday — gave Italy two male quarterfinalists at Roland-Garros for the first time since 1973.

Tiafoe also was part of a rare accomplishment for his country: He and Paul were the first American men to get to the round of eight in Paris since Andre Agassi in 2003 — and the first duo to do it in the same year since Jim Courier and Pete Sampras in 1996. But with Tuesday's results, U.S. men are 1-60 since 1999 at the French Open against opponents ranked in the top 10.

No. 15 Tiafoe, a 27-year-old from Maryland, hadn't dropped a set on the way to the quarterfinals. But he wasn't up to the task against Musetti, a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2024.

Wearing a chain around his neck with a pendant reading "Big Foe" in capital letters, Tiafoe missed all eight first serves in his initial service game and sent a backhand wide to give Musetti a 2-0 lead. Tiafoe looked at his coach, David Witt, and complained about the wind.

"He didn't start as he wanted, but today it was really complicated to play well," Musetti said. "It was so windy and it was difficult to manage to hit properly."

At match's end, Musetti had more winners, 44-33, and far fewer unforced errors, 51-32.

Still, when two-time U.S. Open semifinalist Tiafoe smacked a forehand to even the match at a set apiece, he let out a roar and shouted: "Let's go! Let's go!"

During that set, Musetti was warned for unsportsmanlike conduct for kicking a tennis ball that inadvertently hit a linesperson. Unlike most top-level tennis tournaments, which rely on electronic line-calling, there are still humans on court at Roland-Garros to decide whether shots land in or out.

The point of the match came in the third set's sixth game.

Musetti stretched wide of the doubles alley near the net to reach a shot at a seemingly impossible angle. Tiafoe then did the same in response, sending his near the baseline. Musetti ran and, with his back to the net, twisted his body to somehow flick a low ball back with a half-swing. It worked, though, and Tiafoe — perhaps startled to see the point wasn't over — netted an awkward, shoulder-high volley.

That set swung Musetti's way when he broke in its last game. On a 12-stroke exchange, Tiafoe tried an ill-advised and ill-struck drop shot that the speedy Musetti got to, conjuring up a down-the-line backhand winner. Now it was his turn to punch the air and yell.

Told by the postmatch interviewer that he has an elegant game, Musetti joked: "I mean, we are Italian. We are elegant."

He is 13-4 in his French Open career, and three of those losses came against an opponent ranked No. 1 — Novak Djokovic twice, Alcaraz once. The only way he'll need to deal with the top-ranked man this time in Paris is if it's his pal Sinner standing across the net on Sunday with the trophy in the offing.

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis