In a day of drama at the 2025 ATP Finals, Lorenzo Musetti saved the best for last.
The 23-year-old was almost a double-break twice in the final set, but he harnessed the energy of the partisan crowd in Turin and produced a fiery comeback, storming back in the last four games to beat Alex de Minaur 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
Warrior mode
Facing fatigue and a determined De Minaur, it looked like the Italian would come up empty for the second time in a row on his Nitto ATP Finals debut. In the deciding set, De Minaur had a break point to go up 4-1 and again to go up 5-2, but Musetti fought off both break points and used the momentum gained to engineer his first career win at the ATP Finals.
It will be one of the biggest victories in Musetti’s blossoming career.
After the win he was still flying high, buoyed by the experience of delighting hometown crowds with brilliant tennis.
“I was really struggling physically because Alex raised the intensity level, so I was struggling to find solutions, but then at the end, with a big heart and a big passion for the sport – I don’t know where – I started to feel better and play better, and the crowd support was literally amazing, so Musetti has to thank everyone.”
Musetti became the third Italian player to win another match at the ATP Finals. He faces Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday as he now has hopes of reaching the semi-finals – all four players in the Jimmy Connors Group still have a chance of going through.
“I’m a fighter, honestly,” Musetti said. “I think I’ve improved a lot mentally and of course I’m pushing myself to the limit because I’m playing every match with the best players and I know the next one is against Carlos. I know how difficult it is especially in these conditions – I’ll try to enjoy myself and fight like I did today.”
Musetti’s rapture was De Minaur’s heartbreak. The Aussie falls to 0-5 lifetime in tour championships at the end of the season, and he has to wonder what he needs to do to earn a win at the ATP Finals. As the first Australian to qualify for the singles since Leyton Hewitt in 2004, De Minaur was shut out on his debut last year, losing all three round robin matches.
He will try to get on the board Thursday against Taylor Fritz.
Tuesday’s trillride was not short on mains. It was a match that featured a point that could go down in the Top 10 of 2025, a 31-shot rally that was won by De Minaur with a powerful strike and ended with both players on the court exhausted.
Musetti hit 22 winners on the day, while De Minaur hit 34. The difference was in the unforced errors, with the Austrian producing 44 and Musetti just 28. In the end there wasn’t much between the two players.
It was based on will and nerve, and surprisingly it was Musetti who held on better.
De Minaur served for the match at 5-4, and served for a tiebreak at 5-6, but could not hold off Musetti, who had found his second wind by then. The world number 9 hit a brilliant follow-up kick to wrap up the battle in two hours and 47 minutes as the crowd inside the Inalpi Arena erupted.
Musetti immediately ran into the crowd to find his team and hug them as his longtime girlfriend looked on with tears in her eyes.
Musetti improves to 6-9 against the Top 10 this year – the Italian is one of only four players to record that many wins against the Top 10 in 2025, along with Jannik Sinner (15), Carlos Alcaraz (15) and Alexander Bublik (6).
