Lorenzo Musetti is alive and kicking at the Nitto ATP Finals. The Italian claimed his first win at the prestigious year-end event on Tuesday evening when he defeated Alex de Minaur 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in a thriller in Turin.
Backed by a raucous home crowd, Musetti made a stunning comeback from 3-5 down in the deciding set to move to 1-1 in the Jimmy Connors Group and keep his qualification hopes firmly intact. The 23-year-old sealed victory on his second match point when he hit a forehand winner pass during the run before celebrating with his team on court.
“I was really struggling physically because Alex increased the level and intensity and I really struggled to find the solution,” Musetti said. “But in the end, with a big heart and a big passion for this game, I don’t know where from, I started to feel better and play better and the support from the crowd is great. I have to thank them all.”
The 23-year-old was transformed from the player who had fallen just 30 hours earlier to Taylor Fritz. He buzzed around the baseline with renewed intent, hammering through De Minaur’s defense with heavy ball strikes and punctuating key moments with fist pumps to boost the home support.
After fading in the second set, Musetti rediscovered his spark when it mattered most. He recovered from the loss with a breathtaking 31-shot rally at 4-3, 30/30, rallying with a forehand tweener to leave both players flat on the court, before mounting a dramatic late attack. When De Minaur served for the match, Musetti hit back to break, riding a wave of momentum and noise to seal one of the biggest wins of his season after two hours and 47 minutes.
Musetti will face the number 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Carlos Alcaraz in his third match on Thursday. The Spaniard, who is looking to win the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time, is 2-0 this week after beating De Minaur and Fritz. All four players can still qualify for the semi-finals.
“I am a warrior,” Musetti added. “Mentally I have improved a lot and I push myself to the limit because I play against the top players every match. The next match is against Carlos. I know how difficult it is, especially in these conditions. I will try to enjoy and fight like I did today.”
Musetti has now won his past three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings against De Minaur, having also triumphed at this year’s ATP Masters 1000 events on clay in Monte Carlo and Madrid. While those matches helped Musetti to the final in Monte-Carlo and the semi-finals in Madrid, Tuesday’s victory marked his first victory over a Top 10 opponent on hard courts in 2025.
Musetti competed in Turin for the first time and qualified thanks to a career-best campaign. He reached the finals last week in Monte Carlo, Chengdu and most recently Athens, giving him a season record of 45-21, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. Before 2025, the Italian had never achieved more than 40 tour-level victories in a single year, a milestone he has now left well behind him.
De Minaur’s best result this season came at the ATP 500 event in Washington, where he won the trophy. The 26-year-old, who also reached the final in Rotterdam, is 0-2 this week.
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