HONG KONG TENNIS OPEN: LORENZO MUSETTI HAILS 'TOUGH MINDSET' AFTER OVERCOMING RUBLEV

Italian No 1 seed recovers from losing first-set tiebreak to move within one victory of first title since 2022

Lorenzo Musetti said he was unfazed by the prospect of trying to end his finals hoodoo against Alexander Bublik in the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open on Sunday.

Italian Musetti outlasted Andrey Rublev on a packed Victoria Park Tennis Stadium on Saturday, coming through a see-saw semi-final 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 following two hours and 43 minutes of gripping tennis.

Bublik also recovered from losing the first set to beat Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. It is the first time since 1996 that the top two seeds will contest the final at Victoria Park.

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Musetti was made to work to the end by 2024 champion Rublev, who forced three break points as his opponent served for the match. The third arrived after Musetti came to the net for a straightforward volley, only for Rublev's scrambling forehand to clip the net cord and loop apologetically beyond the Italian's racquet.

"It was an unlucky point, I'd played it really well ... it can happen in a long match, but I was in a tense moment," Musetti said. "But with a great mentality I came back from that.

"I had to find solutions to the explosiveness of Andrey, and I'm so happy with the win. I fought hard, with a great mindset and attitude, and that was key to turning around the match."

The victory ensured that Musetti will finish the week with a career-high No 5 world ranking. He is the third Italian in history to reach the top five, after Adriano Panatta and Jannik Sinner.

"It's such a pleasure but with this win I kind of deserved it, and I'll try to go for more," he said.

Despite flying high in the global standings, Musetti's wait for an ATP Tour crown stretches back to the second career title he won in Napoli in October 2022.

The six finals he has lost since include one in Chengdu back in September when he dropped two championship points against qualifier Alejandro Tabilo.

He was beaten from one set up by Novak Djokovic in the final of the Hellenic Championship in November, and suffered an identical fate against Carlos Alcaraz earlier in 2025 in the Monte Carlo Masters final.

He said those experiences had left no mental scarring, adding that: "I worked really hard for this title and, hopefully, it's coming on Sunday. I'm not looking at the title, just to play these kinds of matches with great intensity and attitude, which is what brings titles."

Rublev deservedly claimed the opening-set tiebreak after opening up a 6-1 lead and finishing it with a cool volley on his third set point. He had earlier received an official warning for upending a courtside wooden box that was storing his towel after being broken back to love in the eighth game.

It was anyone's guess which way the second set would go, as the pair created 10 set points between them. The first nine were saved, but Musetti converted decisively to move 6-5 in front, before recovering from 15-30 down in the 12th game to draw level.

Rublev, who had periodically looked uneasy on his feet, fell heavily when racing to the net midway through the decider. He appeared to sustain no lasting damage, the real pain inflicted by two knockout forehand blows that earned Musetti a break for 5-4.

Still beaming after surviving Rublev's final act of resistance, Musetti said: "I felt great on court, the speed of the ball was high and Andrey played with great intensity. It's important I'm starting the season with a bang."

Immediately after Sunday's singles final, Musetti and compatriot Lorenzo Sonego will face Rublev and Karen Khachanov for the doubles title. "It will be challenging to play two finals but I feel lucky and privileged to be there."

No 2 seed Bublik smashed a racquet after he was broken by Giron in the opening game of the fifth set, which he later said was a deliberate attempt to rid himself of frustration.

"I'd had trouble seeing the ball, and didn't know why, but my contact lens was moving inside my eye," he said. "I let the emotions out, if I'm going to lose, I want to show my game and it helped."

After identifying the cause of his sighting issue, the Kazakh, who sent down nine aces, broke Giron in the opening game of the second and third sets, eventually winning in one hour and 41 minutes.

In contrast with Musetti's issues in finals, Bublik won four of his eight career ATP titles last year. Still, the 28-year-old said the pair's differing recent experiences would count for nothing on court.

"The more you win, the closer you are to losing," he said. "I'll just be ready and hope to show my best game."

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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2026-01-10T10:53:16Z