MUSETTI MAGIC SEALS UNLIKELY WIN TO LEAVE DE MINAUR HEARTBROKEN
Lorenzo Musetti wowed the Turin crowd as he secured a maiden Nitto ATP Tour Finals victory over Alex de Minaur.
The Italian debutant claimed his fourth straight success over the Aussie with a rollercoaster 7-5 3-6 7-5 triumph in two hours and 47 minutes.
It gave Musetti his first Top 10 win on a hard court this year and also left de Minaur still searching for that elusive first victory at the event having now lost five out of five overall.
In what clearly felt like a make-or-break clash in terms of both players’ hopes of realistically progressing from Jimmy Connors Group, it was the Italian who seized the only break of a surprisingly serve dominated first set.
De Minaur was repeatedly guilty of overcooking his forehand but finally made an impact on the return in the second stanza to break for a 5-3 lead before consolidating to force a decider.
The Aussie suddenly had an extra spring in his step and immediately broke to love in the opening game of the third set.
It looked like being the key moment, but de Minaur grew passive and nervy trying to serve it out and an adrenalin-fuelled Musetti broke back to level at five apiece.
The Italian went on to make it four games in a row from 3-5 down to stun his opponent and clinch an unlikely victory on his second match point with a sensational forehand pass on the run.
The result means all four players are still alive in the group heading into the final matches on Thursday.
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