We won't see another all-Italian clay-court match as Jannik Sinner was forced to withdraw from the 2023 Barcelona Open quarterfinals.
The young Italian met with fellow compatriot Lorenzo Musetti exactly one week ago as the two faced off in Monte Carlo. This time, they were set to meet at an ATP 500 tournament in Spain, but since Sinner was forced to withdraw due to an illness, Musetti advanced to the semifinals, making the most of this good form recently.
Sinner's withdrawal from the Barcelona Open is undoubtedly a setback, but it is important for the young star to prioritize his health and recovery as the clay-court Grand Slam is nearing along with the upcoming ATP 1000 tournaments in Madrid and in front of his home fans in Rome.
Lorenzo Musetti, on the other hand, has been presented with a golden opportunity to shine on the big stage. The 21-year-old Italian has been steadily climbing the ranks and demonstrating his potential to become one of the sport's future greats. As he now advances to the semifinals, he will await the winner of the match between the second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas and the eighth-seeded Alex de Minaur.
With a championship run, Sinner could have moved to his career-high 7th place in the ATP Rankings on Monday, but with quarterfinals as his result, he's guaranteed to stay 8th and even make his gap to 9th Felix Auger-Aliassime bigger.
On the other hand, Musetti is set to match his career-high 18th place, and with a run to the semifinals, he will be only 5 points from the 17th position of Tommy Paul. Should he advance even further, the Italian will reach his new career-high on Monday.
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