Style Points

Tennis star Lorenzo Musetti has climbed the men's rankings with sprezzatura—as only an Italian player can.

- Corey Seymour

IL CAMPIONE "I'm a top-10 player who is getting closer," says Musetti, 23, photographed in London in June. Bottega Veneta coat and top. Grooming, Laurence Walker. Details, see In This Issue. Sittings Editor: Harry Lambert.

I'm more than typical," says Lorenzo Musetti, in his very good but heavily accented English. We're in the back of a hired car on the way to Wimbledon in late June, discussing the 23-year-old upstart tennis star's innate Italian-ness. "I have all the positive things and negative things. Let's start with the negatives: Sometimes when things get spicy, we get even spicier. On the other hand, of course, we have the elegance, the style, the Italian culture that we bring to the courts—trying to be smooth."

Many may try. But Musetti, in a meteoric year or two, has rocketed from a ranking in the 30s to as high as sixth in the world. "He got to the finals of Queens and the semis at Wimbledon [last year], got a bronze medal in the Olympics, and then had an incredible clay court season and made the semis at the French," says coach, commentator, and former pro Brad Gilbert. "Almost out of nowhere, he started playing the best tennis of his career."

Still, it's