TURIN/WASHINGTON, November 13, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
After Lorenzo Musetti earned his first-ever win at the Nitto ATP Finals Tuesday night, defeating Alex de Minaur, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, the Italian No. 2 released plenty of emotions that had been building up inside of his slender 6-foot-1-inch, 172-pound frame. It was a hard-fought victory that meant the world to him – and it’s one he will soon not forget.
The 23-year-old from Carrara, Italy, with the handsome smile and beautiful, one-fisted backhand inspired from watching Roger Federer, jumped for joy after rallying from 3-5 down in the final set to beat the World No. 7 from Australia.
Musetti won on his second match-point opportunity after he emphatically struck a forehand passing shot winner hit on the run. As the World No. 9 pumped his right fist height into the air in celebration, the capacity crowd of 13,000 that filled Inalpi Arena roared its collective approval – many of them Italians, who had been raucously cheering for Musetti for nearly three hours.
What a way to end the match @Lorenzo1Musetti dazzles in front of the home crowd #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/ep6oe0CfLQ
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 11, 2025
Quickly, Musetti sprinted over to the side of the arena court and hurdled into the stands to hug his lifelong coach, Simone Tartarini. as well as other members of his team, and to embrace his partner, Veronica Confalonieri.
It all added up to a happy scene among Team Musetti – and it all happened just two days after Musetti lost his first group stage match in straight sets against World No. 6 Taylor Fritz of the United States and just four days after finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Athens. It was at the net after losing the Hellenic Championship title, while embracing Serbian great, that he learned that he – and not the 24-time major champion Djokovic – would be going to Turin to compete in the ATP Tour’s year-end finale.
Musetti qualified for the season-ending tournament following a career-best season, in which he reached the finals in three events – Monte-Carlo, Chengdu and Athens – and won 19 matches at the Masters 1000 level. Also, he was also a four-time semifinalist and a five-time quarterfinalist on the ATP Tour.
Take a bow, LORENZO MUSETTI @Lorenzo1Musetti | #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/Q4VCCH8J6v
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 11, 2025
During his on-court interview after his triumph over de Minaur, Musetti admitted he had been struggling physically. That’s because de Minaur had raised the level and intensity of the match and “I was really struggling to find the solution.”
At the end, with a big heart and big passion for the game of tennis, Musetti added: “I don’t know from where, I started to feel better and play better and the support of the crowd [was] amazing. I have to thank them all.”
Musetti’s victory leveled his win-loss record to 1-1 in the Jimmy Connors group. He remains alive and well with one more group match to play. On Thursday evening, Musetti will face World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who is 2-0. Fritz (1-1) will face de Minaur (0-2) during the afternoon session. All four players remain in contention for a Saturday semifinal berth.
“I am a warrior,” admitted Musetti, whose 2025 win-loss record improved to 45-21 (26-16 on hard courts), the first time he’s ever recorded more than 40 tour-level wins in a single season. “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. The next one coming is against Carlos. I know how difficult it is, especially in these conditions. I will try to enjoy and fight like I did today.”
Oh my @Lorenzo1Musetti with an electric pass!
#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/GTfdfX83vp
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 11, 2025
Wednesday’s ATP Finals results
Thursday’s ATP Finals order of play
By the numbers
Lorenzo Musetti is the fifth Italian man to play in ATP Finals tournament history after Adriano Panatta (1975), Corrado Barazzutti (1978), Matteo Berrettini (2019, 2021) and Jannik Sinner (2021, 2023-25).
“Quotable …”
“Honestly, I was completely gassed. Probably from the crowd, probably from my team, from my box, who were, you know, screaming. They were loud today. They gave me the energy that I needed to turn around this beautiful match. Alex from mid-second set started to raise the level and intensity. He was not missing a ball. So, it was really, really difficult. But then, at the end, all the hard work, I think, paid off.”
– Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, during a post-match interview with Tennis Channel Tuesday evening, on how he found the mentality and strategy to defeat Alex de Minaur of Australia in three sets.
“I was completely gassed”
Lorenzo Musetti turned to the home crowd for some much needed energy in win #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/gCGilRK2hX
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) November 11, 2025
