Lorenzo Musetti can't think about "what's coming next" with Sebastian Korda looming in Athens semifinals

By now, the stakes are widely known for Lorenzo Musetti this week. Win the Hellenic Championship in Athens and he earns the last remaining spot to the Nitto ATP Finals, which begins Sunday.

After narrowly escaping Stan Wawrinka in his opening match, Musetti returned 24 hours later Thursday with a far less stressful road to victory to reach the halfway point of his road to Turin. The No. 2 seed dropped serve just once to dispatch fifth-seeded Alexandre Muller, 6-2, 6-4.

“A better match, a better start also compared to yesterday. The key was today, I served really, really good,” he assessed during his on-court interview.

“That gave me the confidence with the game to be more aggressive, especially with the forehand. That’s what I need to do in this kind of surface.”

Musetti has his work cut out for him if he is to snatch the coveted ATP Finals berth from current holder Felix Auger-Aliassime. The 23-year-old is looking to end a title drought dating back to October 2022, while dropping the past five finals he’s contested.

The Italian is also aiming to reach an indoor championship for the first time and faces an opponent motivated to finish 2025 on a high after struggling with multiple injuries throughout the season.

Sebastian Korda awaits in the semifinals, picking up three wins thus far at the inaugural ATP 250 event to cement a year-end Top 50 finish. Having rallied from a set down in his first two matches, the former world No. 15 fired 13 aces past Miomir Kecmanovic in a decisive 6-3, 6-2 display.

“I played a good match. I knew I had to play really well to beat Misha. He’s an incredible player, unbelievably solid from the back,” Korda shared with the crowd.

“I’m excited to end the year at a great tournament and hopefully I can keep going. It’s pretty easy when you get fueled by some good food.”

Korda won his lone indoor tour-level meeting with Musetti at 2022 Metz, the last time they crossed paths (he also won their 2021 encounter at the Next Gen ATP Finals). For Musetti, it's clear he needs to stay present with the challenge in front of him.

“I’m trying to think about match that I need to prepare. Sebastian is a really great opponent, especially in these conditions. He really likes to play on hard indoor,” he said.

“It’s going to be a tough match. I need to focus on myself and what I have to do, not thinking too much on what’s coming next.”

Top seed Novak Djokovic meets the winner of Marcos Giron and Yannick Hanfmann in the top half semifinal. The 24-time major winner, who landed in the same group as Carlos Alcaraz during Thursday’s Nitto ATP Finals draw, has not confirmed if he will make the trip to Turin.