Musetti dazzles on Stockholm debut, drops four games to reach quarters

Lorenzo Musetti needed little time to settle into his first appearance at the Stockholm Open. The third seed beat British qualifier Toby Samuel 6-1, 6-4 in the round of 16 on Tuesday evening, a performance that gave away just five games and not a single break point.

The win sends the Italian into the 48th tour-level quarter-final of his career and his seventh of the 2026 season, according to Tennis Majors. He will face either seventh seed Ugo Humbert or Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo for a place in the semi-finals.

One-way traffic from the second game

Musetti broke in the second game of the match and never looked back in the opening set. He served strongly, came forward well and took the set 6-1 against an opponent who was playing his fifth match of the week after coming through qualifying.

Samuel, who had knocked out Swedish wildcard Leo Borg in the first round, kept the second set closer. But Musetti grabbed the decisive break for 2-1 and, serving at 5-4, closed out the match with a love game in just over an hour.

The numbers reflected his control. Italian outlet Ubitennis counted 19 winners against only seven unforced errors for Musetti, while Virgilio Sport reported that he won 80 per cent of points behind his second serve. Samuel, by contrast, made 22 unforced errors and never earned a look at the Italian's serve in 17 games.

German site tennisnet highlighted the variety in Musetti's game, with the one-handed backhand producing several of the evening's most spectacular points.

"A bit of tension" on debut

Speaking afterwards, Musetti admitted that his first match in the Swedish capital had not been entirely nerve-free. "I hadn't played Stockholm before, felt a bit of tension but I'm happy with how the evening went," he said, as quoted by Virgilio Sport. "I'm really pleased with my performance, especially my forehand, which worked well when needed."

The 24-year-old also referred to a difficult season disrupted by injuries, saying he now feels physically fit again and is rediscovering his best level. That will be welcome news for Italy captain Filippo Volandri ahead of the Davis Cup.

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Indoor form holds up

Musetti arrived in Stockholm in good shape on indoor hard courts. Tennis Majors noted that he came into the week with an 8-2 record on the surface this season, a run that includes the ATP 250 title in Lyon in October. He is also only the second Italian this decade to reach the Stockholm quarter-finals, following Lorenzo Sonego in 2025.

Elsewhere in the round of 16, sixth seed Alex Michelsen also advanced on Tuesday by beating Juan Manuel Cerúndolo 6-3, 6-2.

For Musetti, the next hurdle is the winner of Humbert against Gojo. Humbert is the seeded favourite, while Gojo, like Samuel, has come all the way through qualifying. Whoever comes through, the Italian will go into the quarter-final having spent barely an hour on court in Stockholm so far.