Lorenzo Musetti says if Novak Djokovic was wrong to delay his decision on playing the ATP Finals for so long  

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Lorenzo Musetti has been through quite the week in attempting to qualify for his first ever ATP Finals.

Musetti needed to win the title in Athens to qualify for the ATP Finals, which would have been his first title since 2022.

The Italian did reach the final, but Musetti was beaten by Novak Djokovic and therefore Felix Auger-Aliassime took the last spot in the ATP Finals.

However, the saga was not finished there, as Djokovic withdrew from the ATP Finals straight after the final in Athens, meaning that Musetti did not need to play the tournament after all.

Lorenzo Musetti gives his verdict on the timing of Novak Djokovic’s ATP Finals withdrawal

Djokovic actually told Musetti that he would not be playing the ATP Finals in Turin at the net after beating him in the final.

This meant that Musetti needed to head to Turin to conduct his media duties a day later, where he was asked about the timing of Djokovic’s decision.

While he admitted that it was a ‘strange situation’, Musetti does not appear to hold anything against Djokovic for leaving it so late.

“Well, I think Novak, he was completely in the rules of the ATP, of the tournament itself,” Musetti said in his post-match press conference.

“Of course, I think the strange situation was that he was playing literally the week before the Masters. That could be a little bit strange for a player who is already qualified. But that’s the only thing.

“Of course, when he told me at the net after the match that he was not coming, honestly we had a laugh about it. I was curious all week. I was curious if he was coming or not. Of course, I was trying to focus on myself. I think I made a good work at that, even if I didn’t win the final.”

Lorenzo Musetti’s Head-to-Head vs his ATP Finals group

After replacing Djokovic in the draw, Musetti has been placed in the Jimmy Connors Group alongside Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur.

While this is obviously a very challenging draw, Musetti does actually have a winning head-to-head against both Fritz and De Minaur.

This includes beating them both in their last three meetings against one another, but Musetti has struggled against Alcaraz ever since beating him in their first match in 2022.

All of Musetti’s wins over Alcaraz, Fritz and De Minaur have also come on either clay or grass, with indoor hard courts in particular something he struggles with.

Musetti will be hoping that can all change with the crowd behind him, as he takes on Fritz in his opening match in Turin on Monday, November 10.

Alcaraz has already beaten De Minaur in the opening match of the Jimmy Connors Group, setting the pace for his rivals.