Valentin Vacherot shows his clay-court game is "ready to roll" with ousting of 2025 Monte Carlo finalist Musetti

It took Valentin Vacherot some time to find a rhythm in his opening round at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

After coming through a deciding set against Juan Manuel Cerundolo to kick off his long-awaited homecoming, the Monegasque delivered an even bigger effort Wednesday inside the stadium he knows inside and out.

Having seen three set points slip away before saving one of his own, Vacherot battled his way past last year’s runner-up Lorenzo Musetti for a 7-6 (6), 7-5 victory on Court Rainier III.

The 27-year-old admitted to ATP Media’s Colin Fleming afterwards that “I didn’t deserve to win the tiebreak”, though rose to the occasion in the end to secure his best career clay-court win.

Read: Vacherot brings "new status" to Monte Carlo homecoming

In knocking off the fifth-ranked Musetti, Vacherot notched his first Top 5 victory since upstaging Novak Djokovic during a magical run to last October’s Shanghai Rolex Masters crown.

“If someone had told me that my first Top 5 win of the season would be here in the night session on this center court I’ve been hitting on since I’m six years, (I'd say) nothing can beat that,” he declared.

“Maybe people don’t know that I love clay. I grew up playing here before going to college where I learned to play on hard. I needed a set and a half to get on it in the first round. Now my clay-court game is back and ready to roll.”

Musetti was looking for his first win since the Australian Open, where he was forced to retire up two sets on Djokovic in the quarterfinals due to an upper right leg injury. He returned to drop his Indian Wells opener, before withdrawing from the Miami Open with a right arm issue.

In 2025, the Italian followed up his Monte Carlo performance by reaching the semifinals at Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros.

Vacherot takes on Hubert Hurkacz in third-round action Thursday. The Pole previously halted a seven-match losing streak (includes one Challenger appearance) when he eliminated 15th seed Luciano Darderi in the first round,  before adding a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Fabian Marozsan today.

Musetti’s compatriot Flavio Cobolli also exited in his opener. Belgian qualifier Alexander Blockx upset the No. 10 seed, 6-3, 6-3, saving all five break points he faced. Former champion Andrey Rublev was also sent packing, as Zizou Bergs ousted the No. 13 seed with his 6-4, 6- 1 dismissal.