When Lorenzo Musetti walked through the gates of Melbourne Park and caught sight of Rod Laver Arena, the memories of his crowning moment at the Australian Open came flooding back.

Twelve months ago, Musetti became the first Italian – boy or girl – to claim a Junior Grand Slam title at the Australian Open when he negotiated an epic showdown with American Emilio Nava.

With the latest instalment of the tournament beginning on Saturday, Musetti’s successor will be known within a matter of days and, like the Carrara-born 17-year-old, they too will be a first-time Junior Grand Slam champion.

But while his career has progressed and he has spent the intervening period making his presence felt in the professional ranks, Musetti is only too happy to recall his Australian Open triumph with the merest of promptings. 

“In the moment of victory, a dream came true,” Musetti told itftennis.com. “It was an unbelievable moment. After two and a half hours on Rod Laver Arena and a 14-12 win in the tiebreak, I just fell to the floor and lay on the court.

“I couldn’t believe it – it was my dream. It was not easy in the winning moment to realise the extent of the achievement. After maybe two or three days, I did realise what I had done.

“Being the first Italian boy to win at the Australian Open, back home the media interest was massive and I had many busy days. Even now, though, it’s difficult to describe exactly what that victory means to me.

“Australia will always mean a lot as it was such an important trophy to win. My ambitions for my junior career were to win a Grand Slam and reach No. 1 in the rankings. To reach those goals, I am very proud.”

But despite holding his Junior Grand Slam success in such high regard, perhaps his experience at the most recent edition of the Australian Open goes some way to topping last year’s accomplishments.

Musetti was back at the Australian Open as a wild card, looking to navigate qualifying and secure a place in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time. He fell short but still landed some significant blows.

Recovering from a set down, Musetti toppled world No. 152 Marius Copil before slipping to an agonising defeat against Tallon Griekspoor in the final round of men’s qualifying.

From there, however, Musetti embarked upon a series of practice sessions with some of the world’s finest players. As his Instagram account testified, the teenager kept some esteemed company, hitting with 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer, defending Australian Open men’s champion Novak Djokovic and 2019 US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev.

“The first time I played on Rod Laver since winning there was a warm-up with Roger Federer [ahead of his match with American Steve Johnson] and this was even better because he is my idol,” said Musetti.

“It was a really intense 30-minute session – it is not easy to play against him. With Novak and Daniil, we trained for an hour and both were really funny and humble.

“Novak speaks Italian really well so we could communicate in Italian, although we didn’t talk much, we just played. The goal for the practice was not to receive advice or anything like that, just to enjoy it.”

Musetti’s exploits are sure to act as inspiration for those set to battle for honours in this year’s boys’ draw. In the period since his Junior Grand Slam triumph, he is ranked No. 364 in the world, has chalked up some notable scalps at Challenger level and claimed two ITF World Tennis Tour Men’s titles.  

According to Musetti, that Junior Grand Slam success prompted him to approach the next stage of his career with additional swagger, while his wider experience of junior tennis allowed his game to develop and prosper.

The teenager competed for Italy at the 2016 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals in Prostejov and 2018 Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Budapest and contested the 2018 ITF Junior Finals in Chengdu – three flagship ITF tournaments.

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

“Last year, I reached my junior goals and I was ready to play professionally. There is plenty to work on but, from there, I am building towards my ambition for 2020, which is to qualify for Roland Garros.

“It won’t be easy but I will do my best. I will look to take my experience in Australia, both the Junior Grand Slam win and the training I did this year with Roger, Novak and Daniil, and use that to my advantage on court.”