First-time French Open quarter-finalists Lorenzo Musetti and Frances Tiafoe face off in Tuesday's contest, seeking progress to the event's semi-final.
The Italian, who had endured Roland Garros heartache over the years, was clinical to beat Holger Rune in four sets, while Big Foe continued his impressive run with another victory in straight sets in his fourth-round contest against Daniel Altmaier.
Match preview
© Iconsport
Lorenzo Musetti's Roland Garros history had been typified by twice taking Novak Djokovic to five sets only to lose and falling to a younger Carlos Alcaraz in 2023.
Facing neither player in the opening four rounds this time, the Italian No. 2 player was backed for a positive run before the Grand Slam commenced, due to his outstanding performances in the Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, where he made all three semi-finals.
The 2025 Monte-Carlo runner-up entered this year's French Open having never gone past the fourth round, but there was no stopping the two-time ATP titlist this time, with the world No. 7 recovering from being pegged back by Rune in set two to seal a 7-5 3-6 6-3 6-2 victory in three hours and 18 minutes under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Having entered this year's French Open with a 67% win rate, the highest at the Slams, claiming four more victories in Paris have seen the 23-year-old improve to 12-4 at the event, a 75% win rate.
Bidding to advance to the semi-finals of another clay event in 2025, Musetti is the marginal favourite to outwit Tiafoe in the French capital.
© Imago
However, the American will have other ideas given his outstanding run at Roland Garros, where he had previously struggled.
Tiafoe's previous showings had been marked by six first-round losses, two round-two defeats and one elimination in the third, demonstrating his struggles in Paris.
This year has been unmistakably different for the two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, whose performances outside of his home Slam were previously a thing of derision among some tennis observers.
Yet to drop a set en route to the last eight in 2025, Tiafoe's four wins so far mean he enters a fifth Grand Slam quarter-final with an 8-9 win-loss record in the French capital, further emphasising the 27-year-old's previous struggles.
Having claimed the last two matches against Musetti, Big Foe aims for a third consecutive success over the in-form Italian to progress to a semi-final showdown against Alcaraz or Tommy Paul.
Tournament so far
Lorenzo Musetti:
First round: vs. Yannick Hanfmann 7-5 6-2 6-0
Second round: vs. Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4 6-0 6-4
Third round: vs. Mariano Navone 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-2
Round of 16: vs. Holger Rune 7-5 3-6 6-3 6-2
Frances Tiafoe:
First round: vs. Roman Safiullin 6-4 7-5 6-4
Second round: vs. Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4 6-3 6-1
Third round: vs. Sebastian Korda 7-6(6) 6-3 6-4
Round of 16: vs. Daniel Altmaier 6-3 6-4 7-6(4)
Head To Head
Cincinnati Masters (2024) - Round of 32: Tiafoe 6-3 6-2
Stuttgart (2023) - Quarter-final: Tiafoe 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 6-2
Rome (2023) - Round of 32: Musetti 5-7 6-4 6-3
United Cup (2023) - Final: Tiafoe 6-2 ret.
Acapulco (2021) - Round of 16: Musetti 2-6 6-3 7-6(1)
Although Tiafoe and Musetti have never played at a Grand Slam, the American leads their head-to-head 3-2 before their sixth ATP Tour meeting.
Strikingly, the Italian player beat the 15th seed in their only clay-court meeting in Rome two years ago, though the match went to a decider.
However, Tiafoe did claim a victory over the two-time titlist on clay on the Challenger Circuit five years ago in Parma, beating the young Musetti in three sets, having lost to the current world No. 7 on the dirt in three sets in Forli.
The American star enters Tuesday with a 13-36 record against players ranked in the top 10, including four wins in the previous 10 against the elite.
We say: Musetti to win in four sets
Big Foe's run to the quarter-finals this year without dropping a set means the American's manner of wins cannot be discounted.
Nevertheless, Musetti's previous showing at Roland Garros — despite early exits — and his 2025 clay-court performances mean he is backed to progress instead of Tiafoe to the last four against Alcaraz or Paul.
