The Italian crowd wanted to be fully behind Lorenzo Musetti, and they had a chance early in his 2025 ATP Finals match against Alex de Minaur. Musetti took the first set 7-5 against the speedy Australian, but beating de Minaur is like beating away a gnat: He seemingly keeps coming back.
To be sure, Alex de Minaur is not overly powerful. He has no one shot that will separate him from most high-end opponents. His forehand and backhand are solid, but not exceptional. He doesn't defeat himself, but he can be beaten by an overpowering player.
For most, though, the Australian is a menace. He chases down most shots with his elite speed and is a metronome when it comes to returns. Unless a shot is hit perfectly and powerfully, de Minaur is likely to chase it down. He can't put players away, but it takes his opponent several shots to do the same to him.
Alex de Mianur defeats Lorenzo Musetti at the 2025 ATP Finals
What changed in each player's second round-robin match of the ATP Finals is that instead of waiting for Musetti to dictate the pace of play, the Australian began to come into the net in set two. He forced the Italian to try to hit winners past him, and Musetti was somewhat successful, but not consistently so.
De Minaur was able to get the break when he needed and took set two 6-3. He got another break early in the third set and needed only to hold to seemingly get the win and all but end Lorenzo Musetti's chances to move out of the group stage.
In the third set, Musetti appeared to start cramping. He was able to move around the court still, but de Minaur was forcing him to run a lot. The Italian got a bit of a break when a person in the crowd unfortunately suffered a medical problem, and the rest helped Musetti on the first point when play resumed, but de Mianur was able to hold to take a 3-1 lead.
Each service game thereafter was a masterclass in drama. Each player had a chance to break. To get to 5-3 with de Minaur serving, the Aussie hit an overhead winner and fell down in a dazzling display of athleticism, but Musetti fell down too. It was a magical point.
Musetti then held, and de Minaur needed to hold serve to get to 1-1 in the tournament. He couldn't. Somehow, Musetti found all the muster he could to not only get the match back to even at 5-all, but, feeding off his home nation's crowd, he blistered through de Minaur to win three straight and take the final set 7-5.
To think Lorenzo Musetti wouldn't even be in the ATP Finals had Novak Djokovic not dropped out is one thing. To think he can still win the event is another thing, but he absolutely can.