On the hunt for the Nitto ATP Finals debut, Musetti tries to beat the pursuers in Paris

On the hunt for the Nitto ATP Finals debut, Musetti tries to beat the pursuers in Paris

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Lorenzo Musetti’s match in Vienna ended in the semi-finals against Alexander Zverev on Saturday, but his performance still leaves the Italian in a strong position to qualify for his Nitto ATP Finals debut. Musetti extended his lead from eighth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin to 440 points ahead of Felix Auger-Aliassime and was able to seal his place in the season finale with a strong week at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Now that Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Zverev and Novak Djokovic have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, there are still four places to be won in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur and Musetti currently occupy these positions, while Auger-Aliassime, Casper Ruud and Daniil Medvedev lead the chasing pack. Players still have two weeks to rack up points, with a pair of ATP 250s in Athens and Metz after Paris.

Musetti is attempting to join defending champion Sinner on home soil in Turin. In addition to the personal history of his Nitto ATP Finals debut, Musetti would also make Italian history if he can qualify: Never before have two Italian singles players qualified for the season finals in the same year. In 2021, Matteo Berrettini qualified before withdrawing after one match due to injury. Sinner, an alternate, replaced him.

In Paris, Musetti opens his campaign against compatriot Lorenzo Sonego or a qualifying match. He could face Medvedev in the third round.

PIF ATP Live Race to Turin (inbound Paris)

Player Points

5) Taylor Fritz

3,885

6) Ben Shelton

3,770

7) Alex de Minaur

3,745

8) Lorenzo Musetti

3,685

9) Felix Auger-Aliassime

3,245

10) Jack Draper

2,990

11) Casper Ruud

2,835

12) Daniil Medvedev

2,610

*Draper will not play again for the rest of the season due to an injury

Shelton, who is also looking to make his Turin debut, will face either Flavio Cobolli or Tomas Machac in his opening match, with Andrey Rublev a potential third-round opponent. Fritz, a 2022 Turin semifinalist and 2024 finalist, is seeking his third Nitto ATP Finals appearance. If both qualify, it would be the first time two Americans have qualified for the year-end event since Andy Roddick and James Blake both competed in 2006.

De Minaur hopes to return to Turin for the second season in a row. Like Musetti, the Australian strengthened his position in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin with a semi-final this week. Sinner ended his run on Saturday in Vienna.

Fritz and De Minaur could meet in a crucial quarter-final in the top half of the draw, with both players pushing for qualification. They have broken down 10 previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings.

With 1,000 PIF ATP Ranking points in Paris, Auger-Aliassime and Ruud could both move into the top eight with the title. Medvedev, the 2020 champion at the season finale, would need even more points in Athens or Metz to find a way into the top eight and extend his streak of consecutive Nitto ATP Finals appearances to seven.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, currently on 2,585 points, could pass Medvedev for twelfth place by beating Joao Fonseca in Sunday’s Basel final. That would put the Spaniard on 2,755 points, 990 points behind Musetti.

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