Lorenzo Musetti is still entertaining dreams of playing at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin – and not as an alternate.
The Italian rallied from a set down to defeat Stan Wawrinka on Wednesday in Athens, surviving to earn a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 Victory over the 40-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion.
“He was not struggling physically [in the third set] I hope when I’m 40 I will do the same,” said Musetti, who called him an “inspiration.”
“I had to raise the level to win this math, especially in the third set.”
That win puts Musetti three triumphs from his goal – he needs to come away with the title in Athens in order to vault past Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Race to Turin standings.
Musetti will face fifth-seeded Alexandre Muller of France in the quarterfinals. Muller defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry in a drawn-out battle on Wednesday, 6-7(2) 7-6(4) 7-6(3).
“It’s not easy to play with it in my mind, but if course if I want to qualify for the masters I have to lift this trophy here,” Musetti said, when asked what’s next.
23-year-old Musetti, ranked ninth, kept Wawrinka from becoming the second oldest player to ever record a Top 10 win with determined play across the final two sets. Wawrinka was also bidding to become the oldest ATP quarterfinalist since Ken Rosewall in 1978.
The Swiss fired 36 winners (nine backhand) and 22 aces but could not hold off the Italian down the stretch in the high quality two hour and 22-minute encounter. Musetti improves to 1-1 lifetime against the Swiss legend, he lost to Wawrinka in Rome in 2020.
If Musetti can get past Muller he’d face either Sebastian Korda or Miomir Kecmanovic in the semifinals.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic lurks as a potential final opponent. The Serbian legend faced sixth-seeded Nuno Norges in the quarterfinals tomorrow.
