Lorenzo Musetti's appearance in the 2025 Chengdu Open final ended in tears for the Italian player. Even though the top seed had two championship points, he could not bank on them and ultimately, his unseeded opponent Alejandro Tabilo came out on top with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (5) win. Musetti has now faced five consecutive ATP Tour-level finals he has appeared in, with his most recent title triumph coming back in October 2022.
After facing defeat in the final of the ATP 250 event for the second successive year on Tuesday, September 23, the World No.9 broke down in tears. He sat on his courtside bench for quite some time, burying his hand in his towel as Tabilo celebrated. Overall, it was a horrific experience for Musetti, who was practically superior on the day in terms of winners, unforced errors and points.
Last year, it was home favorite Shang Juncheng who defeated Lorenzo Musetti in the Chengdu Open final, with the Chinese tennis sensation defeating the Italian 7-6(4), 6-1.
Musetti has two ATP Tour-level title wins to his name. Both of those came in 2022, with the first one coming at that year's Hamburg European Open, where he won against Carlos Alcaraz in the final. Later, at the 2022 Tennis Napoli cup, he defeated compatriot Matteo Berrettini at the last hurdle.
Lorenzo Musetti has lost finals across five events
At last year's Queen's Club Championships, as an ATP 500 grasscourt event Lorenzo Musetti took on Tommy Paul in the final. Here, the American became victorious against the Italian, producing a 6-1, 7-6 (8) win. After the win, Paul had kind words for Musetti as he appreciated the Italian's progress on grass in recent years, saying:
"Watching him play on grass the past two or three years has been really cool. I think everyone kind of thought of him as a clay-court player, and he's kind of proven everyone wrong. He's obviously a force on the grass courts and is comfortable on it and plays very, very well on it."
Musetti went on to lose the finals of the Croatia Open and the Chengdu Open in 2024. This year, before suffering his heartbreaking final loss in Chengdu, Musetti had to settle for second-best against Carlos Alcaraz at the Roles Monte-Carlo Masters.