The stakes are higher than normal for a week with nothing more than a pair of ATP 250s on the schedule. There is one more spot available at the Nitto ATP Finals, with Felix Auger-Aliassime and Lorenzo Musetti in the mix.
Auger-Aliassime, who has taken over the No. 8 position following a runner-up performance at the Rolex Paris Masters, has withdrawn from Metz. That means Musetti will surpass the Canadian and grab the final spot in Turin with a title at the inaugural Hellenic Championship in Athens.
Musetti was in prime Turin position going into the Paris Masters 1000, but Auger-Aliassime’s performance changed everything. Now Musetti has to lift the Athens trophy, but the good news for the Italian is that he controls his own destiny now that FAA is not playing in Metz. Had the Paris runner-up played in Metz and reached at least the semis, Musetti would have been out of year-end championship contention regardless of his own result in Athens.
The world No. 8 is the second seed at the Athens ATP 250 behind Novak Djokovic. They could not go head-to-head until the final as the top two seeds, of course, although there is especially no guarantee that Djokovic makes it that far. It’s hard to see the 38-year-old Serb being overly motivated at a 250 tournament when the Nitto ATP Finals begin on Sunday.
Musetti awaits either Botic van de Zandschulp or Stan Wawrinka following a first-round bye. The 23-year-old could face Luciano Darderi or Sebastian Korda in the semis.
Quarterfinal picks: Nuno Borges over Novak Djokovic, Brandon Nakashima over Reilly Opelka, Kamil Majchrzak over Damir Dzumhur, and Lorenzo Musetti over Alexandre Muller
Semifinal picks: Borges over Nakashima and Majchrzak over Musetti
Final: Borges over Majchrzak
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.
