Lorenzo Musetti: 18-year-old stuns Stanislas Wawrinka in second Tour match at Rome Masters

Coming into just his second Tour level match Lorenzo Musetti did not expect to beat three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka at the Rome Masters on Tuesday but the teenager says he fully deserved his stunning 6-0 7-6(2) victory.

Coming into just his second Tour level match Lorenzo Musetti did not expect to beat three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka in straight sets at the Rome Masters.

A straight-sets loss to Andrey Rublev in Dubai in February was Musetti's only Tour-level appearance before the clay-court match-up against Swiss Wawrinka, who counts the French Open among his three major titles.

"I think it's a dream that came true. I'm still not believing what I did tonight," Musetti said, adding that he used to visit the Foro Italico complex in Rome with his friends to watch the likes of Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Wawrinka play.

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I didn't expect this win, but I think I deserved it. I played really good tennis.

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As a junior the Italian finished runner-up at the 2018 US Open and won the Australian Open in 2019, the same year he turned professional.

The 18-year-old, ranked 249, needed a wildcard to play the qualifiers in the Masters 1000 tournament and was getting close to matching his career earnings of $70,000 (£54,000) from just one event.

"I don't know how many points I got, how much money," Musetti told reporters. "I just enjoyed the match and I had a lot of fun tonight.

"We worked a lot this month. I think I did one step of maturation of my game and my mentality."

Musetti's single-handed backhand was also a match for Wawrinka, who skipped the US Open and the Western & Southern Open in New York and played challenger events on clay to prepare for this month's French Open in Paris.

"Stan has an incredible backhand, incredible serve, a lot of power," said Musetti. "I think I just managed my weapons the best tonight. At the end, it was incredible."

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