Musetti vs. Fate: Italian must beat Djokovic in Athens final to clinch Turin berth
Lorenzo Musetti edged out Sebastian Korda 6-0, 5-7, 7-5 on Friday evening. He’ll face Serb Novak Djokovic, the top seed, in the final
Lorenzo Musetti, 2025 | © Gepa / PsNewz
Italian Lorenzo Musetti, the second seed, edged out American Sebastian Korda 6-0, 5-7, 7-5 to advance to the final of the Belgrade Open at the Belgrade Arena on Friday evening. It’s his 8th ATP Tour final (2-5), third of 2025 after Monte-Carlo and Chengdu, and first on indoor hard courts
Musetti saved a match point at 5-4 in the third set. “We’ve played a fantastic match”, the Italian highlighted.
Musetti, ranked No 9, will play Serb Novak Djokovic, the top seed, next. He has to win this final to take the eight rank at the ATP Finals and make his first appearance in Turin. Djokovic won against German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the final. His 1162nd success on Tour victoire. 144th final. On the line : a 101st title.
Musetti : “not really lucky”
“Tomorrow… I’m not really lucky with the finals in these past years. It’s 3 years that I’m losing in finals. Hopefully the story will change starting from tomorrow. I will play for 2 goals. One is to win the title here. The other you probably know. I’m looking forward to playing this match against a legend. It’ll be really nice for the crowd.”
Yes it’s a long road for Musetti who had to win against Frenchman Alexandre Muller, the No 5 seed (6-2, 6-4) and Swiss wildcard Stan Wawrinka (4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4), who lead 5-4 in the tie-break of the second set before wining.
Korda, ranked No 52, will be back in the Top 50 after one of his best weeks in 2025. He defeated Serb Miomir Kecmanovic (6-3, 6-2), Bosnian Damir Dzumhur (4-6, 6-3, 6-3) and Australian Alexei Popyrin, the No 7 seed (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) earlier in the tournament.
