Lorenzo Musetti is two wins away from regaining his place in next Sunday’s eight-player ATP Finals draw after beating Alexandre Muller to reach the semi-finals of the Greek Championships in Athens.
I really liked the way he competed and he could have easily won the match in the second set as well, but I managed to stay strong Cameron Norrie
The Italian needs to win the event to earn enough points to overtake Felix Auger Alaissime, who displaced him in Paris last week when he reached the final of that Masters event.
The Italian kept his hopes alive with a comfortable 6-2 6-4 victory in 82 minutes over the Frenchman. He set up a semi-final with Sebastian Korda, who recorded an equally comfortable victory over Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-2. It was reached in just 58 minutes.
Korda fired 13 aces and won 30 of his 33 points for the first time in an impressive serving display against the Serbian as he chased the first title of his career.
In the other half of the draw, Novak Djokovic needed one hour and 48 minutes to get past Nuno Borges to make the last four 7-6(1) 6-4, where he will face German qualifier Yannik Hanfmann who resisted for over an hour and 48 minutes before conceding this spot in the semi-final 7-6(3) 6-4.
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
In France, at the Moselle Open in Metz, Great Britain’s No. 2 Cameron Norrie kept his own title-winning hopes alive as he edged past Lucky Loser Kyrian Jacquet 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4 in a quarter-final lasting two hours and 25 minutes.
Norrie, a finalist in Metz last year, remains the only seed in the draw at seven and has now reached his second semi-final of the season as he chases the sixth of his career.
“He really surprised me,” Norrie said of his French opponent.t, the third he has beaten this week. “He was mixing it really well. A lot of cutting, and sometimes really aggressive. His serve is really good.”
“The French have so many good players, so many different types of players. I really liked the way he performed and he could have easily won the match in the second set, but I managed to stay strong.”
Jaquet outplayed Norrie for much of the match, but the Briton was able to counter when it mattered and at the crucial points, ending the close battle by winning the last 11 points. He will next face Lorenzo Sonego, who defeated Daniel Altmaier 6-4 7-6(2).
In the other quarter-final, teenager Learner Tien got past Matteo Berrettinin 5-7 6-2 6-3 in one hour and 44 minutes to advance to his second tour-level semi-final.
The 19-year-old converted all three break points he earned and is the youngest American man to reach 30 wins in a season since Andy Roddick in 2002 and the fourth American to reach that mark this year.
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