Lorenzo Musetti will be making his tournament debut at the 2025 ATP Finals. He recently opened up about how he reacted to Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from the tournament, which allowed him to participate in this season-ending event.
Alongside Musetti, other players who have qualified for the ATP Finals include Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur, and Félix Auger-Aliassime. The tournament began on November 9 and will run until November 16, 2025, at the Inalpi Arena in Turin.
Lorenzo Musetti Opens Up About His Reaction to Novak Djokovic’s Withdrawal From ATP Finals 2025
Leading up to the 2025 ATP Finals, Musetti competed at the Hellenic Championship, a tournament he needed to win to secure his spot in the season-ending event. He was seeded second and began his campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.
On his way to the final of the ATP 250 hard court tournament in Athens, the former World No. 6 defeated Stan Wawrinka, Alexandre Müller, and Sebastian Korda. In the championship match, he faced Djokovic and finished as the runner-up, losing with scores of 6-4, 3-6, 5-7.
Following his performance at the Hellenic Championship, Djokovic qualified for the ATP Finals but withdrew from the tournament before it began due to a shoulder injury, allowing Musetti to take his place.
During a pre-tournament press conference in Turin, Musetti was asked how he felt upon learning of Djokovic’s withdrawal from the ATP Finals, which allowed him to qualify for the event. In response, the former World No. 6 described it as a “strange situation” that Djokovic was competing in Athens despite already qualifying for the season-ending tournament.
“Well, I think Novak, he was completely in the rules of the ATP, of the tournament itself. Of course, I think the strange situation was that he was playing literally the week before the Masters. That could be a little bit strange for a player who is already qualified. But that’s the only thing,” Musetti said.
Musetti revealed that after the final at the 2025 Hellenic Championship, Djokovic told him at the net about his withdrawal from the ATP Finals, and they shared a “laugh” about it. He also expressed satisfaction with his performance in Athens, despite not winning the tournament.
“Of course, when he told me at the net after the match that he was not coming, honestly we had a laugh about it. I was curious all week. I was curious if he was coming or not. Of course, I was trying to focus on myself. I think I made a good work at that, even if I didn’t win the final,” he added.
With Musetti participating in the 2025 ATP Finals, this marks the first time that two Italian men, Sinner and Musetti, have qualified for the singles event at the tournament.
Who Will Musetti Face in the First Group Stage Match at the 2025 ATP Finals?
The singles event at the 2025 ATP Finals is divided into two groups: the Jimmy Connors Group and the Björn Borg Group. The Connors Group includes Fritz, Alcaraz, de Minaur, and Musetti, while the Borg Group consists of Sinner, Zverev, Shelton, and Auger-Aliassime.
Musetti will begin his campaign at the season-ending tournament by facing Fritz in the opening match of the group stage. This year marks the third time that the former World No. 4 will participate in this tournament, having previously played in 2022 and 2024.
Musetti and Fritz have met five times on the ATP Tour, with the Italian winning three of those encounters. Their most recent match-up took place in the third round of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Musetti triumphed with a scoreline of 6-4, 7-5. He later secured the bronze medal for his country by defeating Auger-Aliassime.
In the lead-up to the 2025 ATP Finals, Fritz competed in the 2025 Paris Masters, where he was seeded fourth. He started his campaign in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round. In his opening match, he defeated Aleksandar Vukic with a score of 7-6(4), 6-2. He was eliminated in the third round by Alexander Bublik, losing with a score of 6-7(5), 2-6.