The Italian played the ATP 250 event needing to win to secure a spot in Turin; however, despite losing to Djokovic in three hours, the Serbian\u2019s withdrawal means Musetti gets his chance on home turf at the year-end event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Match preview<\/p>\n
While the ATP have announced changes to qualification for the ATP Finals from 2026, this year\u2019s chaotic situation highlighted the problems of leaving things to the last minute.<\/p>\n
Although it created drama, the uncertainty of whether Djokovic would participate, Musetti facing a must-win scenario or Felix Auger-Aliassime<\/a> playing in Turin was frustrating at times.<\/p>\n Musetti gave his all in Greece en route to competing to end his three-year title drought, pushing 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic to a decider that ebbed and flowed until the 38-year-old claimed his 101st title.<\/p>\n Now aiming to recover and refocus quickly, the 23-year-old returns home to Turin, seeking another victory over Taylor Fritz to secure a fourth consecutive win against the American No. 1.<\/p>\n However, the former world No. 6 faces a tough challenge of recovering in time as he strives to improve his 44-20 record for the season.<\/p>\n Fritz, who hopes to take advantage of any fatigue, has lost three of their previous tour-level meetings.<\/p>\n The world No. 4’s form since Tokyo has been mixed\u2014having reached the final after winning seven matches in a row, including two at the Laver Cup.<\/p>\n Since losing to Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>, however, the 28-year-old has won just 50% of his six tour-level matches, exiting quickly in Shanghai, Basel and Paris ahead of the year-end tournament.<\/p>\n It remains to be seen if Turin plays out differently, but a player with 55 wins in 2025 will back himself to improve his 55-21 record.<\/p>\n Having reached the title match 12 months ago before losing to Jannik Sinner, Fritz returns to Turin seeking a victory over another home player to claim Monday’s win in the Jimmy Connors Group.<\/p>\n Head To Head<\/p>\n Paris Olympics (2024) – Round of 16:\u00a0Musetti 6-4 7-5<\/p>\n Wimbledon (2024) – Quarter-final:\u00a0Musetti 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2 3-6 6-1<\/p>\n Monte-Carlo Masters (2024) – Round of 64:\u00a0Musetti 6-4 6-4<\/p>\n Davis Cup Finals (2022) – Quarter-final:\u00a0Fritz 7-6(8) 6-3<\/p>\n Wimbledon (2022) – First round:\u00a0Fritz 6-4 6-4 6-3<\/p>\n Fritz previously defeated Musetti in their first two matches on the ATP Tour<\/a>, but the Italian has turned the tide by winning three in a row.<\/p>\n Those wins have been particularly notable, taking place at a Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo, a gripping five-set match at Wimbledon and at the Paris Olympics, all last year.<\/p>\n Heading into Monday, the Italian No. 2 has a 5-8 record against top-10 players this season and has lost four straight matches to such opponents, including defeats to Alcaraz, Sinner, Alexander Zverev<\/a> and Djokovic.<\/p>\n Although Fritz has a losing 3-4 record against top-tier players in 2025, the American has secured two of his last three victories, beating Zverev and Alcaraz at the Laver Cup.<\/p>\n We say: Fritz to win in two sets<\/p>\n Musetti should be the narrow favourite based on their previous encounters; however, his physical and mental exertion in Athens must be taken into account.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a result, Fritz is more likely to outperform the Italian, who may not have much energy left before their round-robin opener.<\/p>\n![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/https:\/\/sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net\/24\/46\/taylor-fritz.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"SM](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/https:\/\/sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net\/20\/33\/sm-words-green-background.png\" "\\"SM")
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