Musetti's Coach Launches the Clash Against Alcaraz: "Playing the final match with a chance to turn the group around is a good thing"

Lorenzo Musetti will play for a spot in the ATP Finals semi-finals this Thursday night against Carlos Alcaraz.

Musetti has played an enormous number of tournaments in this second part of the season. After a very high-quality start to the year, marked notably by a first Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo as well as semi-finals at Roland-Garros, Madrid, and Rome, the world number 9 then struggled.

Even though he wasn't helped by injuries, notably the one to his left leg sustained against Alcaraz on the Parisian clay in June which was a halt in his season, the 23-year-old player can still reach the Masters semi-finals.

Furthermore, his coach Simone Tartarini is convinced: with fewer injuries this year, his protégé would probably have managed to be among the top five players in the Race.

"With a few more tournaments, Lorenzo (Musetti) would easily have been in the top five of the Race rankings. This season, he missed many tournaments due to injuries, not to mention the South American tour he had to miss due to a calf problem.

We went eight consecutive weeks without stopping: Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Brussels, Vienna, Paris, Athens, Turin. That's not nothing. The fatigue is mainly mental, but also physical. For weeks we have been doing calculations, trying to understand everything that needs to be done and how to do it.

During this day of rest, Lorenzo did not touch his racket, he did not spend a single minute of his time on tennis. He simply took care of a few quick commitments with sponsors. For the match against Alcaraz, you always step onto the court to win.

Of course, the legs are not fresh and are starting to feel heavy, but playing the final match with a chance to turn the situation around in the group is a good thing. We will certainly take advantage of it," assured Tartarini in an interview with Gazzetta Dello Sport.