Athens
Musetti excited to play for Turin spot in Athens: ‘Of course there is still one goal’
Italian must win Athens ATP 250 to qualify for Nitto ATP Finals
November 03, 2025
Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour
Lorenzo Musetti is the second seed this week in Athens.
By Andrew Eichenholz
The situation is simple for Lorenzo Musetti: If the Italian wins the Vanda Pharmaceuticals Hellenic Championship, he will qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.
Although Musetti is happy with his season so far, the ninth-placed player in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin is eager to claim the ATP 250 trophy, pass eighth-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime and earn his place in Turin.
“It’s been a tremendous season so far. If I look back to all the achievements and goals that we achieved this year, it’s so far my biggest season in my career,” Musetti told ATPTour.com. “And of course there is still one goal that I am talking about. We’re going to see after this week what’s going to happen, but I’m here also for that and to try to take the spot.”
Musetti has not been shy about his goal of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. On one hand, he really wants to make it to the year-end championships. But the Athens second seed knows he has to find a balance between his desire to qualify and thinking too much about the opportunity.
“It’s something that is not easy. I’m trying not to think too much of the calculations, but I know I have to win the tournament to be guaranteed in Turin,” Musetti said. “The goal is always to win the tournament, so the goal doesn’t change much.
“Of course it’s going to be a tough week, because there are plenty of players who are really strong on this surface. I’ll try to play one match at a time and think about it like every other tournament.”
With that said, Musetti said he is “excited” for the week, which will begin against Stan Wawrinka or Botic van de Zandschulp.
“It’s also now a mental game and a physical game. In Paris, it didn’t go really well,” said Musetti, who lost his opening match at the Rolex Paris Masters to Lorenzo Sonego. “I had a few days to rest, to recharge a little bit the batteries and hopefully here will go better.”
Musetti has been to Greece before, and played a junior event here. But this is his first trip to Athens and he hopes it will be a memorable one.
“I played this morning in the arena and tried it. It’s really cool, really big for a 250. I think it’s really, really nice and hopefully it’s going to be really crowded,” Musetti said. “It’s a nice city with a lot of historical places, which I would like to visit if I have the chance.
“It’s a nice opportunity also for us to have a last week [with points counting towards the Race]. It’s going to be the last year [this week] will count for the Race, because from next year the Paris Masters will be the cutoff for the Race. Let’s make it count this week.”
