Musetti the chef? Italian rates his cooking skills and favourite cheat meal

Lorenzo Musetti will be trying to earn consecutive tour-level wins for the first time this season when he takes on Holger Rune at the BNP Paribas Open on Monday.

But off court, what does the Italian like to eat and how does he rate his cooking skills? The No. 26 player in the PIF ATP Rankings recently caught up with ATPTour.com to reveal all…

Let’s say you have to cook tonight, either for yourself or friends. What do you cook and why?
I would definitely go with some pasta. I like carbonara so much and it is one dish that I can do well. But with my girlfriend, we usually do risotto very well. We have it with some pumpkin and some cheese. But if I have to do it just myself, I would probably make carbonara.

How would you rate your cooking skills?
Considering the average level of cooking on the Tour, I would say that I am pretty good. But for an Italian, I'm not that great. I can cook, I like to cook and I would love to improve my cooking, but my girlfriend, my family, my grandmother and my mum, they cook very well.

If you're at home with your girlfriend, who does more of the cooking?
She does more but when I'm not really exhausted from training, I really love to help her.

Are you strict with your diet?
I think it's tough sometimes to really eat really well. What we have to do is to adapt ourselves on what we have to try and eat. I think it is also a balance between the carbs and the protein and the veggies. All the stuff that we need, the core foods.

Does your diet differ from when you are playing a tournament and when you are not?
It's pretty similar during the season because we do not have so many weeks off. When I'm home, I probably eat more pasta. In Italy, the pasta is so good. When I go on Tour, I prefer to go with rice because I can digest it better compared to pasta, especially before the match.

We have to adapt ourselves every day depending on the scheduling that we have. Let's say, when we play matches, on the day of the match, we usually eat the same dish. Rice with some chicken, all plain. When you are not in a week of a tournament, you can maybe have a cheat meal. I like this.

What do you eat just before a match and how many hours beforehand do you eat it?
It's definitely probably the hardest thing that we have to do because sometimes we really don't know when we're going to play because it depends on the time of the match before. I try to leave at least two hours before the match.

I also eat gels on court. I think it can help, especially when there are hot conditions. It can really help to prevent cramps or a physical drop. You might need some sugar to boost yourself. I think that's definitely a good strategy to have gel or some isotonic drinks.

Do you have any guilty pleasures?
I like a lot of food. I eat almost everything. I would say probably a burger with fries, real typical American food.

Is there anything you can’t eat or don’t like?
I discovered Asian food and sushi. I didn't like that before and now I'm still not a huge fan, but I like it much more and would eat a plate of sushi. Before, like two or three years ago, I would never eat in an Asian restaurant. Now I would go. I eat almost everything.

If you go to one of your favourite restaurants, what do you order?
I always try to look out for an Italian restaurant close to us, close to the hotel, close to where we are staying in the tournament. It's always the best food. Then I would have a good pasta dish.

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