“Completely gassed,” but not done: Lorenzo Musetti survives De Minaur in Turin

Lorenzo Musetti is officially up an running at the Nitto ATP Finals. The Italian claimed his first round-robin victory on Tuesday, edging Alex de Minaur in a thrilling three-set battle that went late into the evening.

After qualifying for the year-end event in dramatic fashion—clinching his spot on the final day of the regular season following Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal—it’s only fitting that Musetti’s Turin debut has been just as eventful.

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His late arrival after reaching the final in Athens (l. Djokovic) meant he had to hit the ground running. Understandably, the fatigue showed in his opening match, where he fell 6-3, 6-4 to Taylor Fritz.

Needing a big performance to keep his semifinal hopes alive in the Jimmy Connors Group, Musetti delivered. He outlasted De Minaur 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in two hours and 47 minutes—rallying from 3-5 down in the final set to complete the comeback.

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Speaking to Tennis Channel after the match, Prakash Amritraj told him, “I thought you were gassed after the second set!”

“Honestly, me too!” Musetti replied, laughing. “I was completely gassed! I don’t know from where—maybe from the crowd, from my team, from my box who were screaming loud today. They gave me the energy that I needed to turn around this beautiful match.”

“Honestly, on this stage, with these people—‘my’ crowd—I think it ranks in the top 3 wins in my career so far,” he added.

The win made Musetti just the third Italian player ever to win a match at the ATP Finals, following defending champion Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini.

Now 1-1 in the Jimmy Connors Group, Musetti’s task doesn’t get any easier: top seed Carlos Alcaraz awaits on Thursday.

“Easy match for me!” Musetti joked. “Carlos is a friend, and he’s a superhuman player. Any time that I step on the court against him it’s an honor and it’s a lesson.”

Alcaraz will have plenty of motivation of his own—he’s just one win away from clinching the ATP Year-End No. 1 Ranking.