Italian Lorenzo Musetti is used to making people sit up and take note.

In 2019, he became the first Italian – boy or girl – to claim a Junior Grand Slam title at the Australian Open after negotiating an epic showdown with American Emilio Nava in the boys’ singles final.

And last week, he achieved another major milestone for his country after a stunning run as a qualifier at the ATP tournament in Rome, where he became the first Italian teenager in 31 years to reach the round of 16.

Musetti’s giant-killing run took in wins over Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori – both, remarkably, in straight sets – before he fell to German Dominic Koepfer.

Back in January, when he was busy attempting to qualify for the main draw of the Australian Open (he ultimately fell in the third round of qualifying), Musetti sounded like a wise head on young shoulders with a clear understanding of what it would take to reach his goals.

His experience of the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors, he said then, has laid the foundations for his transition to the professional realm.

“Junior tennis is a process. You start from the bottom and work towards becoming a pro,” said Musetti. “It is so important to play junior tennis and, as you progress, it gives you the confidence to play at big events.”

Musetti, who has been playing with all the confidence in the world amongst more established pros in Rome, won seven ITF titles during his junior career, culminating in that dramatic victory in the boys’ singles final at the Australian Open.

At the turn of 2020 his target for the season was simply to ‘qualify for Roland Garros’.

At this rate of progress, he might need to set his sights higher still.