ATP Finals: Lorenzo Musetti Avoids Being Last To Arrive & First To Exit, With 'Fino Alla Fine'

ATP Finals: Lorenzo Musetti Avoids Being Last To Arrive & First To Exit, With 'Fino Alla Fine'

Italian Lorenzo Musetti was the last player to qualify for the ATP Finals and almost the first to exit. However, supported by the Turin crowd, he made a stunning comeback to defeat Alex de Minaur 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 on Tuesday.

After celebrating with his team, Musetti wrote “fino alla fine" on the television camera, Italian for “until the end" – a slogan used by Juventus, the football club he supports, and one that perfectly matched his performance.

Musetti missed out on ATP Finals qualification after losing to Novak Djokovic in Athens on Saturday but was called in to make his debut when Djokovic withdrew. He had little time to recover before Monday's 6-3, 6-4 loss to last year's finalist Taylor Fritz and faced elimination with another defeat on Tuesday.

Musetti won the first set without conceding a break point and had De Minaur under pressure in the second set opener. However, the Australian survived and forced a decider.

Musetti's loss to Djokovic lasted almost three hours, his third three-setter in a week in Athens. A third set against De Minaur seemed too much when the Australian took a 2-0 lead.

“I was really struggling physically because Alex raised the level and intensity and I was really struggling to find the solution," Musetti said.

The Italian crowd cheered at every point won by Musetti and even during points he lost, like when De Minaur won a 31-shot rally to hold serve and lead 5-3. Musetti executed a cheeky through-the-legs shot, but De Minaur, falling backwards, somehow won the point, and both players collapsed to the floor.

It looked like Musetti had lost his chance, but he then won the next four games to claim the match. After winning dramatic points, he beat his chest and rallied the crowd who needed little encouragement.

“I'm a warrior," Musetti said.

“I have improved a lot on the mental side and I am pushing myself to the limit because I am playing every match against the top players.

“At the end with a big heart and big passion for this game, I don't know from where, I started to feel better and play better and the support of the crowd is amazing."

Musetti faces another challenge against world number one Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday, where a win is necessary to survive, as Alcaraz has won both his matches. It is certain that no one will leave the Inalpi Arena early now that Musetti has shown what “until the end" truly means.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Source: News18
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