Lorenzo Musetti Still dreaming of playing in the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin and not as a substitute.
The Italian fought back from a set down to beat the 40-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in Athens on Wednesday.
“He wasn’t struggling physically. [in the third set] I hope when I’m 40 I’ll be doing the same thing,” Musetti said, calling him an “inspiration.”
“I had to step up to win this math game, especially in the third set.”
The win leaves Musetti three wins shy of his goal – he needs a win in Athens to overtake Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Turin race’s standings.
Musetti will face French fifth seed Alexander Muller in the quarter-finals. Muller defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7(2) 7-6(4) 7-6(3) in a long-drawn battle on Wednesday.
“It’s not easy playing in my head, but if I want to qualify for the Masters, I have to lift this trophy here,” Musetti said when asked what the next step is.
The 23-year-old Musetti, ranked ninth, used determined play in the final two sets to prevent Wawrinka from becoming the second oldest player in history to break into the top 10. Wawrinka is also seeking to become the oldest ATP quarterfinalist since Ken Rosewall in 1978.
The Swiss hit 36 winners (9 backhands) and 22 aces but was unable to hold off the Italian in the closing stages of a high-quality match that lasted 2 hours and 22 minutes. Musetti improves his record to 1-1 against the Swiss legend, who lost to Wawrinka in Rome in 2020.
If Musetti can surpass Muller, he will face Sebastian Korda or Miomir Kekmanović in the semi-finals.
Top seed Novak Djokovic is a potential finals opponent. The Serbian legend will face sixth seed Nuno Nogues in tomorrow’s quarter-finals.
