Lorenzo saves himself in the second set tiebreak and then defeats a resurgent Swiss player in the third set to reach the quarterfinals in Athens. He will face Muller and can still hope to qualify for Turin.

Lorenzo Musetti comes within two points of a sensational elimination in his debut at the Athens 250 tournament and farewell to the Finals, but saves himself in the second set tiebreak against a resurgent Stan Wawrinka and then flies to victory in the third set. What is certain is that the Tuscan really had a tough time against the three-time Slam winner in what was a battle of (splendid) one-handed backhands, lasting 2 hours and 25 minutes and ending with a score of 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 for the tournament’s number two seed. Musetti did not play well, and it was no coincidence that he repeatedly cursed himself, but the important thing was to win, and the Italian won, albeit with some difficulty. Facing Wawrinka (wild card) in his debut is not easy. The 40-year-old Swiss, now with limited autonomy, can still hurt you on a good day, and that’s what he did for almost two sets, especially on serve and with his divine backhand, still a marvel to behold.

In the first set, Wawrinka got the break that decided the set at 3-3, with Musetti having two counter-break points at 4-5, which he failed to convert. The second set was a continuous tug-of-war with zero break points and the inevitable conclusion in a tie-break, where Wawrinka served at 5-4 with a mini-break advantage. But Musetti did very well to keep his cool and score three consecutive points to close out the set and get back into the match. In the third set, Lorenzo got off to a flying start, immediately breaking serve and giving the now tired Wawrinka no chance. In the next round, the Italian, who must win the tournament to qualify for the Finals, will face France’s Muller.