Alexandre Müller was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 in Athens by Lorenzo Musetti, who absolutely must win the tournament if he wants to qualify for the Masters.
In this very last ATP tournament of the season, Alexandre Müller could have challenged in the quarter-finals in Athens an exhausted player already looking towards his next vacation. Bad luck, the draw put him on the path of Lorenzo Musetti, certainly the most motivated player this week in the Greek capital, since he knows that a victory in the final will open the doors to the ATP Masters in Turin, to the detriment of Felix Auger-Aliassime, who currently holds the 8th and last ticket.
The Italian, world No. 9, won with a score of 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour 21 against No. 43, who had eliminated him on the clay of Marrakech during their only confrontation, in 2023. Alexandre Müller notably experienced difficulties on his serve, with eleven break points to defend. He only saved seven.
Musetti did not tremble
Lorenzo Musetti started the match well, breaking twice on three occasions, to lead 3-0. The Frenchman then managed to erase one of his late breaks, after a long game (3-1), but at 4-2, he lost his serve again, then the native of Carrara concluded with a shutout. On his momentum, the world No. 9 took his opponent’s serve from the start of the second set, and he was not worried about his put in play. He missed two match points at 5-4 on Müller’s serve, but he finished the set again with a shutout to win this match. So here he is in the last four, where Sebastian Korda awaits him, who eliminated Miomir Kecmanovic (52nd). The other players likely to deprive him of the Masters (where he would face Sinner, Zverev and Shelton in the group stage) are Djokovic, Borges, Giron and Hanfmann, who play their quarters in the evening.
Alexandre Müller’s season therefore ends there, and it has been very positive. He actually started it at 67th in the world and will finish it around 41st. He won his first tournament, in Hong Kong, and also made the final in Rio. But the holidays will wait, because in a few days, the 28-year-old will become the father of a little girl.
