Diallo’s breakthrough run ends with quarterfinal loss to Musetti at Madrid Open

MADRID — Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo’s impressive run at the 2025 Madrid Open ended in the quarterfinals Thursday with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.

Diallo, known for his powerful serve, couldn’t find his usual rhythm, finishing with no aces and winning just 24 per cent of his second-serve points.

Musetti, seeded 10th at the clay-court event, broke the 23-year-old Canadian four times and applied steady pressure on return.

The Italian employed a tactical approach, returning from well behind the baseline and frequently targeting Diallo’s forehand to shorten rallies and limit the Canadian’s effectiveness on serve.

“I probably didn’t show my best tennis, but the important thing (about) this match was to take the win no matter how I was playing,” said Musetti.

Musetti will face No. 5 seed Jack Draper of Britain in the semifinals.

Diallo, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser, reached his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal with wins over Zizou Bergs, Kamil Majchrzak, former world No. 8 Cameron Norrie and 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov.

He began the tournament ranked a career-high No. 78 and is projected to rise to No. 53, according to the ATP’s live rankings.

Diallo will be the third highest-ranked Canadian when the new rankings are released Monday, behind Denis Shapovalov, who is projected to rise to No. 28 after reaching the Round of 32 in Madrid, and Félix Auger-Aliassime, who is set to fall nine spots to No. 27 after a Challenger Tour loss in Portugal on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2025.