Lorenzo Musetti spoke about against the boos coming his way from the French crowd at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
While Gael Monfils was likely planning his tactics against the Italian in the first round of the Olympic Games in Paris, Musetti was still busy playing tennis. He was battling Francisco Cerundolo in the Croatia Open final in Umag, less than 24 hours before he was supposed to play the Frenchman in Paris.
The match ended very late on Saturday, with Musetti's efforts going in vain, as Cerundolo beat him in the final. There wasn't much time to think about it, as the Italian rushed to Paris to make it in time for his first match, which was against fan favorite Monfils.
It was a great challenge, but the Italian proved his brilliance by winning that match comfortably, and it was an amazing result, given that only a few hours ago he was in a completely different country.
None of that mattered to Musetti, who came and played well to win that match and secure the second round at the Olympic event. What bothered the Italian were the boos he received when he entered the court, as he didn't think it was a very nice thing to do to a player.
Obviously, the French crowd is known as very rowdy, and they heavily support their players, especially fan favorites like Monfils. In a way, it's not a huge surprise, but understandably, he wasn't particularly appreciative of that.
"I didn't like all those boos when I entered the pitch, these are things I don't like because I like healthy values such as respect. I understand the cheering, but the boos at the entrance to the pitch seemed exaggerated to me."
We've seen a few notable incidents with the French crowd earlier this year at Roland Garros, with a few players voicing displeasure. On the other hand, the Italian players get a fair boost from their fans in Rome as well.
That crowd can also be rowdy, but there are lines that shouldn't be crossed, and Musetti felt like those were crossed in the French capital. He took his revenge in the most meaningful way, and that was to win the match. He spoke about that after the win, admitting that winning like that felt really good.
"After the victory then, I pointed to the emblem of Italy to make it clear that we are also there and want to win. Today, I won on the field, which is the most important thing."
Despite being brave with his statements, Musetti should also be careful because the French crowd remembers, and he will very likely find some more boos in the coming days, especially if he faces a native player again.
He's one player to watch, as he's been playing on a really high level for a while now, and with his statements about the crowd, they will certainly have his name circled.
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