Lorenzo Musetti’s man bun is gone at the Australian Open, but he still manages to win by a hair

MELBOURNE, Australia — Lorenzo Musetti’s man bun is a thing of the past: The Italian tennis player showed off his famously long locks at the Australian Open and won his first-round match by, um, a hair.

16th-seeded Mussetti, a Wimbledon semifinalist last July and bronze medalist at the Paris Olympics last August, needed 4 hours and 6 minutes to beat the country’s Matteo Arnaldi 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6. -3 at Melbourne Park.

At the All England Club and more recently at the Davis Cup final in late November, which Italy won, the strands almost hung over her shoulders.

Musetti, 22, was on top at the Summer Games.

“So far, short hair has had a good start in Australia. Let’s hope it brings me luck,” Musetti said. “It’s a new look. But if I hadn’t had such long hair for so long, people wouldn’t have noticed.

Probably. But a glance at social media makes it clear that fans have definitely taken note of this new ‘do.

He said it’s the closest he’s had a haircut since he was 15. Even when he won the Australian Open junior boys title at 16, it was a bit of a stretch.

“I’m getting old,” Musetti said with a smile, “so I’m trying to look younger.”

His victory over 39th-ranked Arnaldi was more difficult than the final score suggests. Musetti managed to muster only eight more points, 169 to 161.

“It was quite a long match. … Honestly, it could have gone either way,” said Musetti, who had failed to get past the second round of the Australian Open three times before.

“Even though I didn’t play my best tennis, I’m proud to win. “When you play your best, it’s easy to take home the win,” he said. “These are the matches that make you grow and mature as a player.”