The title was already written: this is how you play in Paradise. Because Djokovic, even if burdened by many years of battles, had only received such a lesson at Slam level from the very first Federer and from Nadal in the 2020 Roland Garros final.

Before the mocking injury, Lorenzo Musetti had painted tennis with a disarming simplicity, confirming once again that the God of tennis had been far-sighted in giving him that arm. Because Lorenzo (with coach Tartarini) has combined that infinite dose of talent with the mentality of a great player. Step by step, between rings and falls (very few), Muso has followed the same path as Neo in the first film of the Matrix saga: now he knows he is the chosen one not because someone repeats it to him, but because he recognizes it within himself and when he takes the field he has immediate feedback: perhaps only Alcaraz knows how to reach the stylistic and aesthetic heights of the Divine Lorenzo. And when a champion is in “the zone”, stopping him becomes very complicated.

The match

Djokovic, with his 54 career Slam semi-finals, was like one of those boxers who stagger and just want to hear the bell. The problem for him is that after the change of field, the music was still the same.

To his stellar defensive skills (his backhand passes, played from the stadium car park, are already on display at the MoMA), Lorenzo has added what has been asked of him for some years to make the definitive leap in quality: commanding the exchange, putting his feet inside the court by exploiting his innate ability to design tennis with always different but concrete solutions, and above all equipping himself with a top player’s serve. The fact that he managed to do all this by the age of 24 (which he will turn on March 3) says a lot about the mentality of the Paris 2024 bronze medalist and the quality of the work done by Simone Tartarini.

The forced stop at the beginning of the third set denied him in one fell swoop the seat of number 3 in the world and the possibility of challenging Davis’ partner Jannik Sinner for a place in the final, with the hope that this injury will have as little impact as possible on the rest of the season.

In those ninety minutes of lessons to the former King (6-3 / 6-4) Musetti gave the sensation of being very close to the two phenomena who are leading this new era of tennis. Being close and defeating them in a Slam semifinal or final are two very different things. Jannik would undoubtedly have been the favorite in the derby, but this was an even stronger and more convinced Musetti than the one the South Tyrolean had defeated in the summer in the quarterfinals of the US Open.

If in all his successes in previous majors (semi-finals at Wimbledon and Roland Garros, quarter-finals at the US Open), the feeling was that for the final victory Muso was still far from the leaders, on this occasion, evaluating his performance and level of tennis, imagining that he could lift the trophy on the Rod Laver Arena was not such a far-fetched idea.

At the risk of desecrating the mythology, however to tell the two ways in which Jannik and Lorenzo interpret tennis, I borrow the words with which Arthur Ashe described two of his greatest rivals: “McEnroe (Musetti) is more talented but playing with Borg (Sinner) is like getting hammered. And if Borg (Sinner) is a jackhammer, McEnroe (Musetti) instead is a sharp blade: a cut here, a cut there and suddenly you are covered in blood. Even if the wounds are not that deep, in the end… you bleed to death.”

The future

We wrote it on the eve of the Australian Open. Musetti’s last step to worry the seats of Alcaraz and Sinner is to equalize the intensity that those two are able to express during the two weeks of a slam as well as within a single match.

There is not even the slightest doubt about the professionalism of the Italian and his team. Just as Lorenzo’s journey so far – constant growth steps year after year – is the most convincing reassurance for any type of uncertainty.

When you’re playing at this level at 23, it’s inevitable that you’ll be looking towards higher goals. But with the awareness that the maturation times and paths of every tennis player are never the same. Maintaining this growth trend, what kind of player can Musetti become in 3-4 years? Number 1, Slam champion, prestigious titles… The question gives you chills.

Alcaraz-Sinner again?

What Brad Gilbert, Andre Agassi’s former coach, has always said is true, namely that tennis is played on clay, grass and concrete, but not on paper. Yet, imagining a final other than Alcaraz-Sinner is visionary. Zverev has found solidity again during the tournament, Djokovic hasn’t won a set for a week and is well rested, however, the Spaniard and the Italian would both have to offer the worst version of themselves in order not to get the ticket for the decisive match.

It would be their fourth consecutive Slam final – stuff from the Big Three era – after the final acts in Paris, London and New York. Carlitos plays to make Ferrero forget and win the Career Grand Slam, Jannik for his third Australian Open in a row.

In short, everything leads there. Two guys who are rewriting the hierarchies with the naturalness with which others change the ropes. If anyone then wants to get between them, they will have to play the game of life. Otherwise, let’s get ready for yet another chapter of a rivalry that no longer needs introductions: Alcaraz against Sinner, once again, where it really counts.