AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 24, 2026

Lorenzo Musetti

Press Conference

L. MUSETTI/T. Machac

5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Lorenzo, you're part of a page of Italian tennis history again. Three Italians through to the round of 16 for the first time. What was the key in your match today?

LORENZO MUSETTI: Well, yeah, feel pretty proud to be part of this trio that now we have in the fourth round here in Australian Open. It's my first time, so I'm really, really happy. I'm proud of the win today.

Was such a tough battle for me with an opponent who played I think really incredible level since the end. It was not easy.

I had to turn around the match with physical abilities. The heat and the tough conditions that there were out there. And, of course, improving set by set the percentage of the serve and the way I was, you know, before I was not leading so much the rally, and afterwards I started to play better and to move better and to play more forehands. That was probably the key of the match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. When the match changed to an indoor match in the fifth set, did you have to change your mindset at all? Talk through that process.

LORENZO MUSETTI: Well, it was kind of a little bit cold after they closed the roof 'cause, you know, the air-conditioning was going, so it was kind of big switch from extreme to another. So even the ball was, you know, bouncing lower.

I think he helped him to stay more in the match, because I think at the beginning of the fifth, he was struggling more than myself in terms of physical condition.

But I managed to concentrate on myself and focus on what I had to do, sticking to the plan that we prepare before the match.

Q. You mentioned that your physical ability helped turn the match around. Your style demands a lot of movement. When you know a day is going to be as hot as today, do you think at all about whether you might try to play a different style?

LORENZO MUSETTI: Well, of course at the beginning I was running pretty much because I was not leading the rally, as I said before. But afterwards, I think him was try, you know, to push every ball because was the only solution he had to kind of win the rally when the rally was getting a little bit longer.

I think that's also my strength, you know, being solid. The construction of the point is something that I think I do pretty well. I think I'm prepared, you know, to play these kind of matches, especially in this condition and to five sets. I was ready since the beginning.

We knew that today was going to be really, really hot. I think I managed well to finish the match without cramping, without having kind of any pain. I think that's the most important thing.

Q. When you're going into a day where you know it's going to be so hot, what things do you do to prepare? What you eat, what you drink, whether you make changes to your racquet tension.

LORENZO MUSETTI: Well, I didn't change any things on the technical things in terms of stringing or tension or whatever. But of course, you know, the most important thing is try to be always hydrated and drink a lot. Of course, try to refresh a little bit because the temperature of your body goes really high. So try, you know, to cool it down a little bit, especially on the changeover.

Try to eat well, sleep well, even if the alarm was pretty early today, 'cause woke up 6:45 to warm up at 9.

Q. Did you go to bed early?

LORENZO MUSETTI: Yeah, but of course it's not easy to get asleep at 9:30 or 10. At least you need like eight, nine hours of sleep. Yesterday night, for example, I fell asleep around 11, something like that. That was like almost eight hours of sleep, seven hours and a half. So it was not really 100% recovery.

But it is what it is. It's an adaptation, it's a constantly adapting myself. Today, even if the match I think I started not so good, then at the end I was playing my best tennis. That's the main thing that I'm most proud of.

Q. Did you feel the roof should have been closed earlier, say in the fourth set or the fifth set? Do you feel confident in two days' time you can prepare well, given you were in the heat and your opponent was not so much in the heat?

LORENZO MUSETTI: Yeah, of course, it's a certain situation that we cannot control. And of course I think we played pretty much all the match with the roof open. With air condition, that was really, really, I don't want to say extreme, but was kind of getting extreme.

If there is a rule, I think we might accept that. We stick to the rule. So there was no complaints about me because I was feeling better than my opponent. But of course, if the roof has to be closed, it's okay like that.

I don't feel, you know, unfair the situation that my opponents are playing under the roof. They will play late. I think I have plenty of time to recover for the next match.