The dream is to see two Italians on the field at the ATP Finals scheduled for November in Turin; does not fade, but the run-up of Musetti undergoes a strong braking. At the moment only Sinner has the certainty of participating; the Tuscan, however, failed to reach the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters, the penultimate 1000 tournament of the season. An unexpected stop that comes against a direct competitor for a place in the Finals. Musettinumber 9 in the ranking, lost 6-4, 6-2 to the Canadian Auger-Aliassimenumber 13 in the world rankings.
He smiles instead Paolini which sees the hope of qualifying for the WTA Finals in Riyadh rekindled: the Tuscan champion achieved qualification for the round of 16 of the WTA 1000 in Wuhan, beating her home favorite Yue Yuan at the end of a splendid comeback 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. «It was a really tough match, for a set and a half – said La Paolini at the end of the match – You played very well, you hit winners from everywhere. It was important for me to raise the level today.” «It was important to make the break in the ninth game of the second set. From that moment I started to get into the game better. From there I raised the intensity of my game”, underlined Jas who earned the nickname, much appreciated by local fans, of Bao Zong or “commander Paolini».
With this success, Paolini she became the player with the most match wins in 2025 in China, including the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen, which ended with Italy’s second consecutive triumph. Tuscany is going through a good period of form. The same cannot be said for Musetti. The Italian was the author of an amazing start to the season which earned him entry into the top 10 and the current number 9 in the world ranking but in this period he appears to be in difficulty.
Today’s match against Auger-Aliassime it was balanced for long stretches even if it was the Canadian who held the reins of the game. Musetti he appeared nervous, complaining about the audience who, according to him, coughed to distract him. Carrarino would also have asked the referee to intervene. The coach of MusettiSimon Tartarinialso invited his player to concentrate on the match. Advice, evidently, not heeded.
In case of final victory of the tournament Auger-Aliassime would be able to overcome Musetti in the qualifying race for Turin. October is the period in which the North American plays his best tennis. In the semi-final he will face the expert Frenchman Rinderknechnumber 51 in the ranking. In the other semi-final they will face each other De Minaur And Medvedev.
Currently Musetti he is in eighth place in the qualifying rankings for Turin and has 630 points ahead of the Canadian, tenth and first tennis player currently excluded in light of the Briton’s injury Draperninth, who will only return to the field in 2026.